Guardians of Remnant
by The Thought Keeper
Summary: We were taught that there was a line between fantasy and fact. What if that line disappeared, could you bring yourself to accept myths as concrete proof? Whether we believe it or not, some myths are based on the truth, and the truth, cannot remain hidden forever.
1. Sparks

**I don't own RWBY, but if I did, everyone would wear combat skirts, even Ren! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"What are you doing you dolt?"

"Surprising Blake! Shhh, here she comes."

Blake had just opened the door of their dorm and was greeted by a growling Ruby wearing a badly constructed Ursa head she made from random junk she found in the room. All that earned her was a blink and nothing more. Weiss knew that as a previous member of the White Fang, Blake was taught to always keep her guard up at any given time. She noted that Blake did in fact shift slightly forward into an offensive position, but after noticing that Weiss had a questioning look on her face, she re-evaluated the situation to find out it was just Ruby.

Weiss respected Blake, even though she was a Faunus and her family despises Faunus. She admired the calmness in her posture and uninterested façade she had on her face, though she will never admit it due to her stubborn pride. Ruby continued trying to scare Blake but got frustrated and gave up, earning another failed attempt at making Blake crack. This was the twelfth attempt this day, and it all happened within the span of three hours! Ruby was determined and persistent, an annoying combination at times.

She bitterly remembered that time when Ruby tried to prank the heiress herself. She had filled her pillow with cream cheese. It had been a long day for her and she deserved some much-needed sleep. She was sitting at the edge of her bed, she laid her head back and- Weiss shuttered at that thought, not wanting to relive that nightmare.

Blake strolled silently to her bunk and took out a book to read. Weiss heard Ruby snicker a bit and she had a feeling she knew what was going to happen. Before Blake could open her book, Yang entered the room so loudly that it could overpower even a Nevermore's cry. Weiss was surprised the brute hadn't destroyed the whole academy. Blake broke her composure for a second, enough for the book to fall out of her hands and land on the ground. The book then exploded open, spraying confetti everywhere but on the intended target.

The bookcase behind Blake began to rattle as her novels fell onto the floor, one after the other. Blake had gotten out of her bunk and slowly backed away to fall in line with her other teammates. The shelf rocked back and forth as books began to fly off the shelf. Some exploded mid-air, some lazily tumbled out of the bookshelf, barely exploding, some hit the walls and furniture, exploding then. They all had one thing in common: they made Weiss furious.

Blake just stared blankly at the mountain of confetti that littered their entire dorm. Ruby looked like she couldn't contain her excitement as she stared at Blake trying to suppress her overwhelming joy. Blake just looked at Ruby with a questioning look on her face. Ruby couldn't take it anymore.

"Anything?" Ruby shouted, waving her hands in the air like a floundering fish.

The sound of her head pounding reverberated through Weiss' eardrums. She wanted to play the nice girl and act kind, but with her patience for Ruby wearing thin, she deserved what was coming.

"Ruby! You insufferable little brat! Do you have any idea on what you've done? You ruined our room, you vandalized our teammate's belongings, and you did it all for some stupid joke!"

"Hey, Weiss, I'm sorry. I didn't know it would upset you so much. I'll just-"

"No, sorry isn't good enough. You always act like a child. You are constantly fooling around and barely passing your tests and assignments! You're a huntress with responsibilities of protecting the city! Start acting like it!" Weiss couldn't contain her rage. She was too angry to see reason and judgment behind this childish gimmick.

"Weiss, relax it's alright. It's just a bookcase, we can fix it later." Blake said, trying to drive reason through Weiss' fury.

"Yeah, it's no big deal Weiss, chill out." Yang had said in a playful voice. It only caused Weiss to grow more furious.

"You know, it's becoming incredibly difficult to be the 'best teammate' when our leader is always acting like an ignorant little idiot!" Weiss spat out the words like venom. She stormed out of their dorm, slamming the door shut.

"Am I really that childish?" Ruby mumbled; a quiver in her voice caused Yang much unrest.

"Ruby…" She made her way over to the trembling crimson huntress.

Yang embraced her baby sister, trying to comfort her with words of encouragement. '_Weiss is so spoiled.' _Yang would have thought of a lot more extreme thoughts, had she not been interrupted by Professor Goodwitch over the PA.

"Attention students, please report to the auditorium for a special announcement."

"C'mon Ruby, Yang, let's go." Blake said halfheartedly. Yang didn't want to break her embrace with Ruby, but she reluctantly let go of her baby sister.

The walk down to the auditorium was uneventful. Blake was in front, leading the way. Ruby was at the rear, still not wanting to talk to anyone but herself. With Yang in the middle, she was thinking about today; particularly Weiss. '_She was a whiny, judgmental girl with no respect. She doesn't deserve Ruby's kindness.' _Yang was unaware that they were in front of the auditorium. Blake entered first, then Ruby closely behind her. Finally, it was Yang.

They were the first ones there, followed by Team JNPR and Team CFVY. Weiss was sitting on the far right of the middle isle; Yang couldn't care less. The three teams sat together in the middle aisle and chatted a bit before everyone else came, the usual conversations of school life, training, and nonsense here and there. Weiss never really paid attention to their conversations, although her name was mentioned a couple of times, most likely about the fiasco and ruckus they had caused. Soon, Headmaster Ozpin stood at the center of the stage and cleared his throat to get the student's attention.

"Thank you. As you all know, the Vytal Tournament is coming very soon; a week and a half from today. I wish you the best of luck for those who are competing." The room erupted in clapping and cheering, though Weiss knew there was more news, so she remained still. The Headmaster sipped his coffee, waiting for the noise to die down so he could continue.

"There is a more pressing matter at hand. Grimm activity has doubled recently and there have been reports of the White Fang being spotted in areas near the tournament stadium. I want all of you to be safe and have your aura up at all times. Notices will be sent out later today with patrol schedules and the sectors each team will monitor. That is all."

The students filed out of the auditorium as slowly as it filled up twenty minutes ago. The last team to leave was Team CFVY and Team RWBY's Weiss. Velvet's team was assigning jobs and discussing patrol partners amongst their team members. Weiss sat there conjuring up reasons on why the White Fang would want to attack a stadium filled with skilled hunters and huntresses. Perhaps they intend to strike? No, that would be too risky, even for the White Fang. Eventually, Weiss was the only one left in the room, still lost in thought. After ten minutes, she decided to take her thoughts, as well as her body elsewhere.

Weiss didn't particularly care where she ended up, just far away from that bumbling idiot. She stumbled upon an unlit hallway and was about to turn around when she heard noises coming from further down the hall. Against her better judgement, she went to go investigate. To her surprise, she found the blonde brute wailing on a punching bag. Weiss didn't want to interrupt the sweaty beast. She turned around to leave when-

* * *

**_20 Minutes Earlier…_**

"Hey, guys, I gotta go do something. I'll be back later."

"And what will that be?" Ruby asked in a mix between childish and serious. It made Yang chuckle a bit. She still had a bit of sadness in her voice, but was more or less back to her old self.

"Something…" Yang said mysteriously.

"I don't know, maybe I should-"

"Hey Ruby, I'll make cookies for you if you tell me a story." Blake said happily. This shocked both Yang and Ruby, considering they knew so little about the habits Blake had.

"You will?" Ruby stared intently at Blake, her eyes sparkling.

Blake nodded and a grin on her face sealed the deal for her. Ruby was jumping all over the place, shouting out ingredients needed to make her favourite cookies. Yang just smiled at Blake and nodded her thanks. She slipped out of their dorm with her duffel bag, silently closing the door and continuing on her way.

She made her way to an abandoned wing in Beacon. It was uninhabited and not maintained properly. The wallpaper was peeling off. There were cobwebs and dust encasing everything. All of the dorm's here were locked, but the tumblers were so rusted that even if a toddler didn't try, they could still break it. Yang made her way to the end of the hallway, opening the door and setting her duffel bag onto the floor. She turned on the light switch and they slowly flickered on. Though this place was old, it still was connected to the schools power generator.

The room was barren. The only things that were there were several weights, a punching bag hanging from the ceiling along with a pile of older ones that Yang had destroyed during her stay at Beacon. She could have gone to the public gym Beacon offered to its students, but Yang would more often than not destroy their equipment and have to pay the fees. Plus, there was no there that could last a full five seconds sparring against her.

She slipped on a pair of worn leather fighting gloves and began wailing on a punching bag, trying to pound away her fury. '_Why does Weiss have to be so stuck-up against Ruby? Why can't she just accept Ruby for who she is and just deal with it?' _Yang's punches began tearing holes into the punching bag spilling the stuffing inside, but she didn't care. '_Why did Weiss have to be on our team. She would have been better off never going to Beacon in the first place. After all, princesses can't fight, they're better off being pampered like the royal mutt she is.' _With one punch, she destroyed the hinge holding the punching bag in place. It went flying into the pile of dead bags, resting at its rightful grave.

Yang looked at herself in the dusty mirror she found in one of the dorms. She was sweaty and her hair was a mess. She was about to go lift some weights when she saw a white figure move across the mirror. She turned around to see cold, blue eyes staring at her for just a moment, then disappearing. The figure then moved into the darkness of the hallway. Yang chased the figure out of the room.

"Hey!"

The person stopped, but didn't turn around.

"What are you doing here?" Yang spoke with a hint of curiosity mixed with her playfulness.

Still nothing. Frustrated, Yang moved closer, raising her voice.

"Hey, answer me would'cha!"

"You know, it's rude to start a conversation without a formal greeting." She spoke so matter-of-factly that Yang almost groaned at the realization of who she was.

"Oh, hey Weiss…" She mumbled, discontent with her unexpected guest.

"Hello, Yang."

There was a moment of awkward silence between the heiress and the blonde. After what seemed like ages of uneasy quietness, Weiss turned on her heels and started to walk away from the pondering Yang.

"Hey!"

"What now?" Weiss sounded annoyed.

"Wanna fight?"

"Now?"

"Yep!"

"You don't even have Ember Celica. And besides, I wouldn't fight you in that smelly old room." Weiss continued walking, unfazed by the challenge.

"Aww, how cute! The little princess doesn't want to fight because she doesn't want to get her dress dirty." Yang mocked Weiss in her best baby impersonation.

"For your information, this is a combat skirt! And I would beat you in a sparring match anytime, any place." Weiss said confidently and angrily at the same time. She knew she had fallen into Yang's trap, but her stupid pride got the better of her.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

Yang stood in a defensive stance; her arms up and feet firmly planted into the ground. Even though she didn't have Ember Celica, she still had a stupid smirk on her face that Weiss always hated. She drew Myrtenaster and prepared for battle herself.

"One condition, no dust."

"What can't handle being at a disadvantage little baby?" Weiss mimicking Yang's baby voice.

Yang snarled and rushed towards Weiss, throwing a barrage of punches towards her. She dodged them and repositioned her rapier to strike at Yang's chest. Yang twisted counter-clockwise, propelling herself with her left leg, trying to land a right hook onto her face. Weiss moved her rapier upwards to block the attack. Yang grinned as she stopped her attack midway through the air and executed a series of jabs at Weiss' abdomen.

Weiss' aura absorbed most of the onslaught of blows, but it still hurt like crazy. She readied Myrtenaster and dashed forward at Yang. She sidestepped the strike and prepared to rush Weiss. She locked her arm back and was about to knock out Weiss when she summoned a propulsion glyph, sending Yang flying into the far wall, cracking it.

Yang was trying to recover when she felt needles poke and prod all over her chest and stomach. Her aura protecting her from physical harm, but her body still received the pain. Yang tried moving her hands and feet, but they were frozen in place. Weiss thought she had won; she prepared to deal the final blow when Yang's eyes turned a tint of red as she flared her aura just enough to break her shackles and ponce on Weiss.

Weiss had already prepared another propulsion glyph. She flew away from Yang, reassessing the situation. Yang's aura was much more noticeable now. Her eyes glowed a soft magenta. Weiss knew that she only had one chance to pull this off. She weakened her stance enough to give Yang a false sense of security. The blonde noticed this and rushed the heiress. At the last second, Weiss moved out of the way so Yang would collide with the pile of broken punching bags.

Weiss switched over to her frost dust and froze Yang along with the broken pile of leather and sand. She began to walk away when the ice tomb began rumbling. Cracks had started to appear across its smooth surface. Weiss was trying to reload her frost cartridge when the ice shattered. Yang was soaring towards the heiress, her eyes a brighter shade of magenta.

She had caught Weiss off guard, tackling her to the ground. They tumbled for a bit until they were in the middle of the room: Yang's fist in front of Weiss' face, Weiss' rapier in front of Yang's heart.

They held that position for a while; Yang on top, Weiss on the bottom. '_Wow, Weiss can fight.' _Yang thought, all previous thoughts of anger evaporating. Weiss was breathing loud enough for Yang to hear. Her controlled intakes of air. Her hair that flowed down from her head. Those eyes that shined like crystal clear water. Her face that spoke perfection to Yang.

"Umm, Yang?" Weiss said, snapping her out back into reality.

Yang shot up, realizing she was blushing. She smiled and stuck her hand out for Weiss. Weiss made an irritated sound, but accepted the hand, allowing Yang to pull the heiress to her feet.

"So, Weiss, are you, umm... gonna... you know…" Yang tried to come up with words but was still lost in deep thought. "Apologize and... stuff?"

"I suppose, but after we both take a shower." Weiss said, delaying the inevitable. The thought of Weiss and herself being naked in the same room made Yang blush even harder. She ran out of the room snatching her duffel bag and bolting to the shower before Weiss could see her blushing face. Yang wanted to wash away everything that happened today with a nice, long, hot shower.

* * *

When Yang entered the room with Weiss, they were both shocked at what they were seeing. Instead of confetti that littered the floor, it was cookie trays. A content Ruby and Nora were munching away at a stack of cookies.

"Yang, do you have any idea on how many cookies Ruby can devour?" Blake asked upon seeing Yang's entry. "I don't know who's worse, Nora or Ruby?"

She, Ren, Jaune and Pyrrha were covered in cookie batter and lying on the floor, exhausted. Yang giggled, as she knew first hand that Nora and Ruby would be impossible to control on a sugar high. Weiss looked a bit upset, but was more impatient, tapping her foot and looking at the clock.

Yang helped Nora carry her tired teammates back to their room. She waved goodnight and made her way back to her dorm. When she got back, all the cookie trays had been stacked in an available corner and Ruby was looking intently at Weiss. She was surprised, but quickly closed the door and made her way to her bunk. Weiss cleared her throat as she began to speak.

"As you know, earlier today, there was a...mishap that caused me to bring upon... unfair judgement on my team leader. It was unjust for me… to accuse Ruby the way I did. I just wanted to let you know that… I intend to do better." Yang could see Weiss struggle to say the two simple words. Kinda cute…

Ruby tilted her to the side with a questioning look on her face. "You're sorry?"

Weiss breathed a sigh of defeat. "Yes Ruby. I'm… sorry."

Ruby was practically flying with joy as she tackled Weiss to the ground with a hug. Weiss looked angry at first, but decided not to ruin the moment. She patted her head as Ruby held their embrace for a long while. Eventually, Ruby let go of Weiss and went back to munching her cookies in silent victory.

"Do you guys even know why I… acted so irrationally?"

"Because you're Weiss, Weiss." Yang said playfully, earning her an irritated stare.

"We have a test on History and Combat on Monday."

"Oh crap, I forgot about that." Ruby said, a slight hint of panic in her voice.

"As a token of apology for my earlier outburst I'll tutor you tomorrow. Deal?"

Ruby nodded her head vigorously as she consumed the last of her cookies.

"Oh me too, me too!" Yang bounced excitedly in place.

Weiss gave her a glare. "Fine."

"Umm, Ruby. How are you going to sleep with all the cookies you ate?" asked Weiss, with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Umm…" Ruby sat there wondering.

Eventually, everyone decided to call it a day and deal with it later. Yang could hear Ruby shifting restlessly in her bunk. Weiss was groaning at the noise and Blake slept like a rock on the floor, not willing to sleep in her bunk covered in cookie batter. Yang thought about the day's events and her feeling for the heiress. '_I guess Weiss just wants the best for Ruby, and she looks kinda cute when she's angry… Get you head together Yang.' _She knew that Ruby and Weiss were going to be good friends, but what about her and Weiss?

* * *

"Ruby! Keep it down, we're in a library!" Weiss whispered to Ruby.

"But I'm bored!" Ruby said, elongating the 'bored' part. "We've been here for five hours Weiss. Can't we take a break?"

"Then go read a book! We're at the library after all, and keep it down!" Weiss whispered louder, trying to get the point across to Ruby.

"There's nothing good to read." Ruby continued to complain, not even considering the fact that they were in a library. This earned them some annoyed glares and a warning from the librarian. Weiss felt so embarrassed.

"Go look for one. Just stop making so much noise!" Weiss say in a hushed yell.

Ruby gave up on continuing the conversation with the ticked-off Weiss. She got up and began walking around the library. She was soon lost in boredom. All of the books here either wasn't her style, or didn't have any pictures. She eventually found a book in the Myths & Legends section. It had seen better days. The cover was worn out and the title indecipherable. Still, Ruby found it odd and interesting enough to take it back to read.

When she got back to the table, she saw Weiss attempting to teach Yang the cause of the Faunus Rights Revolution. Blake was reading some romance novel probably. Ruby plopped down at an empty table. She opened the book to some random page and began reading. It had the standard folklore; origins of Dust, creation of Remnant and the arrival of life. Ruby was about to go return the book when she saw something that caught her attention.

"Whoa!" She said loud enough to stop the conversation Yang and Weiss were having and drawing Blake's attention away from her book.

"Hey guys, come look at this." Ruby motioned for her team to gather around her. She pointed to a section of the page titled 'The Guardians of Remnant'. Blake raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Weiss shook her head in disapproval and Yang was making fun of Ruby. Ruby decided to read a little section out loud.

"According to ancient hieroglyphs in ruins scattered across Remnant, it depicts five unearthly beings that rule over this piece of land. They keep the balance of the world in check. When the council of five are having a dispute, it is said that a catastrophe occurs in the land they rule." Ruby looked up at her teammates, hoping that this changed their minds.

Yang was off snickering at how gullible she thought Ruby was. Blake had gone back to her little quiet spot and picked up from where she left off. Weiss stood their, somewhat disappointed with Ruby.

"Honestly Ruby, you can be too childish at times." Weiss said, staring at Ruby with a saddened look.

"You don't believe in legends Weiss?" Ruby asked halfheartedly.

"Of course I don't believe in legends. They're just myths, make-belief, just like a dream." She said so matter-of-factly.

Ruby thought about her response for a moment, but replied with something Weiss wasn't prepared for.

"Well, isn't that why we are here? To make our dreams true?"

* * *

**_One Week Later..._**

"Hey Weiss. Blake, Ruby and I are going with Jaune's team to check out the festival later today. Wanna come?"

"No, I can't, I have to train." Weiss said not making eye contact with the brute.

"Oh c'mon, there's gotta be another reason." Yang said with curiosity saturating her playful voice.

"No other reason. I need to train. I can't let the Schnee name be disgraced because of missing a day of training." With that, Weiss made her to the door of their room.

"Well, aren't good strategists suppose to survey the landscape." Yang said stopping Weiss in her tracks.

"What did you say?" Weiss said turning around in disbelief.

"I'm just saying that if you don't want come, then your opponents might get an upper hand." Yang said playful as she stepped out of the room, stopping under the doorframe to give a wink at Weiss. She closed the door, leaving Weiss to digest what Yang said.

* * *

"C'mon Ren! We're almost there!" Nora exclaimed.

"Coming Nora." Ren slowly jogging to catch up to her.

Jaune and Pyrrha were at the rear chatting about stuff to irrelevant for Weiss to care.

Ruby was trying to get Blake to tell her a joke. Weiss didn't think that girl had any humor to begin with.

"Boo!"

"Ahh!" Weiss jumped at the sudden scare.

"Oh Weissy, you act all tough and cold, but you're really just a kid!" Yang said happily, patting her on the head.

"Stop that!" Weiss commanded the brute to stop, but that only made her laugh and stroke her hair. Weiss sighed, not wanting to cause a public disturbance and ruin the Schnee name because of some stupid reason on their day off.

Nora was the first one to enter the stadium. It was enormous. There were eight mini arenas surrounding a central arena. They were the only ones there that they could see. The stadium's large with ample seating for each event. The center arena was roughly three times larger than the others. It was made out of chain link fencing. The walls that surrounded all the arenas were made of steel, glass and granite so it was structurally sound.

"I'm thirsty. I'm gonna go get a drink." Nora stated as she tugged on Ren's sleeve, urging him to come with her.

"You guys want anything?" Ren asked to no one in particular.

"Soda!" Ruby said happily.

"Me too." Jaune said just contently as Ruby

"Tea." Blake spoke nonchalantly.

"Coffee." Weiss said calmly.

"Smoothie!" Yang replied ecstatically.

"Waters fine." Pyrrha said with a hint of delight in her voice.

"Okay." Ren said in confirmation has he and Nora headed into the festival grounds to buy the drinks. This was a three-day festival before the Vytal Tournament started. This was the second day of the festival and most of the stalls were open for service. Though it was late afternoon, the festival grounds were still busy with activity. Couples walking around with their hands intertwined. Families visiting each booth carrying all the prizes their offspring won. The warm summer breeze really complimented the scen-

Weiss was abruptly snapped out of her thoughts when she heard soda cans and cups exploding on the ground. Shouting could be faintly heard off in the same distance Ren and Nora want off in.

"We'd better move." said Jaune in a worried tone. They ran towards the noise to find Ren and Nora surrounded by members of the White Fang.

"Behind you!" Ren screamed as he and Nora were engaged upon.

Weiss turned around to find a group of about twenty White Fang members headed their way. She drew Myrtenaster, everybody followed suit, readying their weapons.

"On my mark." Weiss said calmly, squinting her eyes a bit as she waited for the right-

"Now!" Weiss shouted as she went flying towards the White Fang members. Ruby and Blake not far behind her. Nora had fired Magnhild into their assailants, creating suppressing fire. Yang had gone to help support Ren. Pyrrha stayed back and assisted Weiss by picking off targets with Miló. Jaune was off fighting a White Fang member one on one.

He dodge the attacks and landed a blow onto his opponent. Unfortunately, his blade hit the armor instead of his flesh. Jaune recoiled a bit as his body wasn't ready for the metal on metal impact. His opponent shifted his weight onto his left leg as he prepared to step into a thrust. Jaune brought his shield up to deflect his strike. He tilted his shield so it would be closely parallel with his body. The Faunus' blade skidded off Jaune's shield. He aimed Crocea Mors and smacked the soldier with the flat side of his blade. He collapsed onto his back unconscious as Jaune heaved a relieving sigh.

"Hey Pyrrha! Did you see that?" Jaune said somewhat pleased with himself.

"Yes Jaune." Pyrrha said, with a grin clapping softly. "That was very impressive.

Jaune let out a sigh of disappointment as he saw the knocked out soldiers, realizing he really hadn't done anything that fight. He then noticed that everyone had a drink in their hands, but Ruby had two. Jaune remembered both he and Ruby both requested soda. Jaune went wide-eyed as he rushed towards Ruby and snatching a soda can from the crimson huntress. He shook it and was greeted by the sound of nothing. He hung his head in defeat as Ruby happily opened her can of soda and silently drank in content trickery.

Everybody giggled, everybody but Weiss. She looked annoyed. The look faded as she received a message through her scroll. She felt pang of despair at the bottom of her heart. All the colour drained from Weiss' already pale face and she had attracted the attention of her companions.

"Hey Weiss, you ok?" Yang asked with concern overpowering her regular voice. Weiss could only point to the message she had received on her scroll. It was titled 'URGENT.' Yang took the scroll and raised the volume to the max. To their surprise and shock, it was Professor Goodwitch that spoke with a pleading voice.

"Team RWBY and Team JN... hurry ba... Beacon is un... ack... the White... have stormed the buil... Hurry!" Static filled most of the message, but the worried look on all of their faces told Weiss that this was important.

"Let's hurry." Ruby was the first to speak, regaining some colour to her pale face. Everybody nodded as they rushed towards Beacon. Yang noticed Weiss was still standing there lost in thought.

"Hey, Weiss. Let's go." Yang said in a mix of seriousness and encouragement.

Weiss nodded slowly despair still present in her heart. Yang gave her a half-hearted grin and ran to catch up with the rest of her friends. Weiss knew that this was bad, but for some reason she felt safer when Yang was around. She used her propulsion glyph to make up of lost time. She just wondered if they were ready...

* * *

**Feel free to review, favourite, follow, criticize, whatever! It's free! More on the way. Later!**


	2. Dying Embers

**If you can get past the death, I promise there's gonna be fluff.**

* * *

Cardin Winchester ran like the frightened little coward he was, paying no attention to his teammates still fending off the attackers. He had just knocked out the last White Fang member on him and was left alone to do as he pleased.

Sky noticed this and called out in rage.

"Cardin! What the hell man! You're suppose to be our leader, not some pu-!" He looked down to see a red tinted blade, stained in his blood as a ghastly voice whispered in his ear.

"Thanks for the aura," he said as he extracted his sword from the lifeless caraus that was once Sky Lark.

Russel had just watched that masked man kill Sky. He took off running when his face was greeted by what felt like a baseball bat, breaking his nose and shattering some teeth. He looked up to see a man in a vest with a red tie and sunglasses. He cocked his bat back and muttered a few words to the petrified Russel Thrush.

"Hey, look on the bright side kid. The pain's real and but it'll be gone soon enough," the man said as he swung straight at Russel's skull.

Dove had just witnessed two of his teammate's deaths and slowly backed away. He turned to sprint away when he bolted straight into what felt like a brick wall and fell on onto his bottom.

"Hey! Watch it!" He shouted as he looked up in disbelief. The woman standing in front of him had amber eyes and luxurious black hair that ended at her shoulders. She wielded a fireball in her hand and spoke with a darkness Dove had never experienced before.

"It looks like someone lost their little bird. I hope they accept him returned with third degree burns," she said maliciously as she set Dove Bronzewing ablaze, leaving Cardin to hear the screams of agony coming from the teammates he had just deserted.

* * *

It was a beautiful summer afternoon. The clouds had retreated, leaving a brilliant blue sky in its wake. The birds were singing songs that would make a lady shed a tear. The squirrels were scampering to and fro from tree to tree in the Emerald Forest, creating a light cascade of leaves that mesmerized one's soul. The air smelled like lavender and lilac...

Weiss forcefully snapped herself out of this hypnotic trance she so wanted to relish. She scolded herself for allowing such a moment get into her head. Even though it was just for a second, Weiss eased up on her stance enough for her opponent to take the initiative and strike. He charged Weiss, priming his weapon and attempted to knock Weiss out with a high kick to her skull. Weiss seamlessly dodged the attack and readied Myrtenaster. She lunged forward, aiming for his heart, but he fired his weapon mid-air, utilising the recoil to reposition himself so Myrtenaster would graze his right arm. He planted his left foot firmly into the scorched dirt littered with shell casings as he prepared to unleash a barrage of high kicks, in an attempt to finish what he started. Weiss went wide-eyed for a second and used her propulsion glyph to move to a safe distance where she could analyze the situation.

Her opponent's fighting style was physical attack heavy. He relied on getting up close and way too personal for Weiss' liking. She cracked a smile on her emotionless face. She was taught never to show her emotions on the battlefield, but couldn't help it. He reminded her of the brute and the dolt just a bit. His fighting style was almost identical to the brute, but his face reminded her of the dunce on her good days. He wore a sly grin, like Ruby trying to hide a surprise from Weiss. She quickly went back to her dull expressionless face. Weiss' sparing with Yang and Ruby helped her understand their hand-to-hand tactics and how to improve and counter them. She readied Myrtenaster, lowering her stance a bit to prepare a counterattack. She knew that she was running low on dust and her aura grew weaker with every blow. The exhaustion was starting to take its toll, although she didn't show it. Her opponent's stance was weary too. His gray outfit with black outlining that was once pristine now looked worn and tattered. Weiss knew she didn't look impressive herself: her white combat skirt was torn in some places and it was more brown than white. Weiss knew that this could be the last attack she could successfully pull off. She calmed her breathing and focused on the task ahead.

Weiss' opponent rushed forward at a tremendous speed. She readied Myrtenaster in a defensive position as his right foot collided with her rapier. The impact was manageable, but what scared her more was that his sly grin turned into a slight frown. Without a moment's notice, his foot shifted a bit, bracing it against Myrtenaster. He brought his left foot up, trying to connect it to the heiress. Weiss shifted to her right in an attempt to cushion the blow. Instead of connecting with Weiss' forearm, he moved his leg over a bit so it interlocked with her arm. He spun violently clockwise and tore her rapier out of her hand. Weiss, now unarmed had a choice: whether she should go after Myrtenaster, or retreat and rethink her strategy. Her gut told her to flee, but her pride told her that a Schnee never loses to an enemy. With her mind made up she rushed forward, using the last bit of aura she could muster without collapsing, and summoned a propulsion glyph, snatching Myrtenaster from mid-air and chambered her remaining frost dust.

Her opponent seemed disappointed as his foot collided with Weiss's stomach, triggering the embedded shotgun and sending Weiss flying as she hit the blackened earth a few meters out. He made his way over to the still conscious Weiss, who was tightly holding her abdomen, trying to stem the bleeding. He walked over and kicked Weiss hard in the ribs so that she is lying on her back, gasping for air. He loaded his last Schnee Dust Company shotgun round. Ironic that a Schnee would be killed by their own creation. Weiss glared at her opponent, refusing to give up as he readied the final blow.

"You fight like a princess. Although it was enjoyable, I really gotta be going," he said as he brought his foot down onto Weiss' skull. Just when it connected, Weiss shattered into a million pieces of pristine ice. He let out a gasp in shock as Myrtenaster pierced his chest, puncturing his right lung. He collapsed onto the ground, desperately try to breathe as blood ran like a river from his mouth and wound onto the parched ground. The man laughed as he tried to speak.

"You little brat, what's your name?" He was wheezing pretty badly; his time must be nearing its end. Weiss decided to enlighten his curiosity.

"Weiss Schnee," she replied as emotionless as possible, although the wound in her abdomen and broken ribs made it hard to control her feelings. Her whole body hurt, but she couldn't show weakness towards an enemy, a fallen one for that matter.

Although his face didn't show it, his eyes said all the disbelief Weiss needed to see. "Heh, Schnees are always so cold. That's what I hate about the royal bloodline, alwa-," he hacked up blood as he continued with his rambling in a raspy voice. "-ways no fun. Tell your dad that the guy who hurt the family name is Merc-." This time he coughed up blood that was thicker than usual, his chest collapsing but not rising and he stopped making noises. Weiss let out a small sigh of relief; she had won.

She collapsed onto the ground from the pain and exhaustion, still conscious. She faintly heard someone shouting her name. In a blur, a yellow figure kneeled down beside Weiss, cradling her head. Weiss' eyelids fluttered and she saw a blurred outline of a girl with green hair run over and helplessly try to wake up the man Weiss just killed. Before being dragged into an unconscious state, she hears the green haired girl cry a name that sounds familiar.

"MERCURY!"

* * *

Weiss woke up in a medical tent, lying on an uncomfortable bed. The only colour the tents came in was standard military green, and that was the first thing she saw. No Yang, no Ruby, no Blake, just an empty green tent with a few fold-up chairs, a wooden crate for a table and an electric lamp that has seen better days. She felt bandages wrapped tightly across her stomach and chest. She was wearing a hospital gown most likely from a hospital in Vale. A nurse popped into the tent unaware of Weiss' awakening. She decided it would better if she got rested and only moved when she felt better, but the feeling of doing nothing while her teammates were fighting started to cause her unrest. The nurse laid a tray of food on the table for Weiss and made her way to the exit.

The nurse would have left if not for a thud that came from behind her. She turned around to find Weiss struggling to get up from the plastic sheeting that doubled as the floor. The nurse quickly rushed to Weiss' side as she helped her up. She pestered Weiss with the standard barrage of questions like "How badly hurt are you," or "How long have you been awake?"

Instead, Weiss replied with, "Where is my weapon?"

"In the box, but you shoul-!"

Weiss knelt down beside the navy blue box and unlocked its hatches. She found some spare plain clothing, a worn pair of white combat boots and her rapier Myrtenaster. She inspected it carefully and noticed a damaged chamber in the revolver. She changed into the spare clothing, pocketed a small container of incendiary dust at the bottom of the crate, laced up her combat boots and holstered Myrtenaster. She drank the water on the crate and promptly left the tent, despite the nurse's protests.

She thanked the nurse and headed towards the battlefield. On her way there, Weiss thought about the day's events. The man named Mercury. The girl with green hair. Yang… Her head ached, her body not co-operating, but she pressed on. She eventually found a dirt path that led towards a clearing littered with shell casings: shotgun casings. She continued a little further to find the brute and the green haired girl fighting. Weiss slowly crept to the end of the clearing, waiting for…

* * *

Yang moved a safe distance back so she could reload Ember Celica. One last ammo belt. She had been fighting for thirty minutes straight and knew that she couldn't afford to mess this up. She wondered how Weiss was doing, how Blake was faring, and how Ruby was holding up. She was lucky that the green haired girl was distracted long enough for Yang to call Pyrrha so she could get Weiss to safety. But this chick had a different fire burning in her eyes. Instead of passion or survival, it was vengeance.

The girl was the first to charge. Her blades looked dull, but looks can be deceiving. She swung her blades at a speed that almost matched Ruby's. Yang barely had enough time to block them, let alone counterattack. With each strike she moved faster, almost like a driving force compelled her to kill Yang.

She struck Ember Celica hard enough to crack the metal casing and embedded the blade into Yang's forearm. She let out a faint scream as the green haired girl sliced the tendons in Yang's left arm. She let out a louder scream as she collapsed onto her knees, a pool of blood surrounding her. She had a cracked femur, lacerations all across her right leg and exhaustion finally took effect. The green haired girl raised both her blades as she unleashed all of her anger and rage into a shout that echoed within Yang's ears, "This is for Mercury!"

Yang knew she was done for. She felt fear for the first time after her mother's death. Yang had promised her mom that she would be strong for Ruby and be the mother figure she deserved. Yang trained night after night to get stronger. She looked after Ruby through the tough times and was always there for her. She felt guilty for dying and not being able to see her baby sister graduate. A tear rolled down Yang's cheek as the blades came down upon her.

* * *

The wind was gently blowing against Yang's skin. The sun was beating down on her head and upper back. Everything was calm. Yang had already accepted fate's choice. At least she managed to save one life.

Although it was sunny, she felt water dripping down onto her head. It was taking a lot longer than Yang thought it would take for death to claim its reward. She opened her eyes to find blood dripping from above her and onto her face. She was surprised to find someone standing in front of her. She was wearing plain white clothing, and had long white hair in a ponytail off centered to the right. Yang thought she was an angel.

"Why are… looking at me… like that you… brute?"

Yang took a moment to digest the situation. That voice sounded so familiar. That outfit, that hair style...

"Weiss?"

"... Run…"

"Weiss…. what are you doing… here?"

"I can't explain just… Yang, say… goodbye to… Blake and… Ruby for me…"

"Ru...by…"

"Goodbye Yang." That was the last thing she heard from Weiss.

Yang couldn't comprehend what was happening. Was she dead? All she remembered was that her head hit the soft warm grass. She felt cold, and sleep felt so welcoming. She decided she deserved a nap.

* * *

Weiss knew it was selfish for her to die than to live with the thought of taking that man's life. She knew the grief and sorrow that her team had to deal with, accompanying her demise, but she can't outrun fate's clutches and she didn't want to.

The two blades that were embedded in her forearm didn't seem to register in Weiss' brain. The green haired girl looked shocked at first, but then quickly turned to rage. She snarled at Weiss, struggling to remove her blades so she could avenge that man's death. Yang had seemed to doze off; lucky her. She just hoped she would understand.

With the last of her aura, she summoned a propulsion glyph and flew into her opponent. With her left hand, she readied Myrtenaster loaded with all the incendiary dust her rapier could hold. Her enemy managed to free a blade and ran it through Weiss' right lung. Weiss was struggling to breathe as blood poured out of her mouth. Pointing her rapier at her enemy, she moved her left arm back and punctured her opponent's chest. She poured all of her aura into Myrtenaster, willing the dust to ignite and engulfing both her and her opponent in a bright inferno. She faintly heard the screams of agony that came from in front of her. Weiss closed her eyes and shed a tear of both sorrow and acceptance. She just wish she got to say goodbye properly…

* * *

Pyrrha just finished scouting the area when she saw a massive fireball off in the distance. Jaune had just caught up to her as he looked into that same direction, concerned to say the least. They had delivered Weiss to the closest infirmary and were now making their way to help support Ruby and Blake after they finished with the White Fang soldiers here.

"Isn't that where Yang was?" Jaunes voice wavered.

"We'd better hurry."

The pair took off running with Pyrrha in the lead and Jaune not too far behind. When they came to the clearing, they saw their greatest fears come to life. Yang was on her side as a puddle of blood surround her. It drenched her clothing and staining her mane of golden hair blotches of crimson red. Jaune was backing away slowly. He didn't want to live with the horror of knowing the truth. What changed his mind was Pyrrha sobbing silently. She turned towards Jaune and embraced him, sobbing heavily into his chest.

He wrapped an arm around Pyrrha has he tried to figure out what had happened here other than Yang collapsing. Jaune focused in the direction Pyrrha had turned away from moments ago. The first thing he noticed was the blackened earth and smell of burnt grass. On closer inspection, he saw the burnt remains of what looked like two Beowolves. In one of the skeletons, a blade was wedged into its forearm and the other one had a blade in its chest cavity.

None of that mattered as Jaune's eyes focused on a scorched rapier he'd known to be Weiss' weapon: Myrtenaster. The hilt was intact, somewhat burnt but relatively unscaved. The revolver was burnt and cracked. The actual blade was warped and deformed. Cracks ran across the entire rapier and the metal was blackened from the inferno. On closer inspection, the skeleton gripping the rapier was in the… shape of a… human...

Jaune wanted to run. He wanted to hide and wish that this was all just a nightmare. He wanted to just go back home and deal with his family mocking him on how much of a failure he was. At least there, he would be living in peace away from the battlefield. Jaune wanted to listen to his guts, but he had to be strong, for he had someone else to care for: the girl he had currently wrapped around his arms, locked in a comforting embrace.

* * *

_**Middle of Second Semester…**_

Jaune had just returned from Combat Class. He plopped down onto his bed as he tried sleeping the day away. Unfortunately for him Pyrrha had just walked into the room, eager to find Jaune. He had just failed his exam and to top that off, he ditched her on their last training practice.

Just as Jaune was about to fall into a deep slumber, he felt something hit his lower back. He moved his right hand to feel what it was. Then, he was jerked awake when his right arm violently snapped upwards and to the left, on the verge to dislocating his shoulder. He strained to turn his head to see who had put him in the armlock, but was met with a smack on the head.

"This is what you get for leaving me all alone yesterday in the cold night."

"Pyrrha, I'm sorry, something ca- AHHHH! THAT HURTS!"

Pyrrha let out a content giggle as she let go of her helpless victim. Jaune was moving his fingers to make his shoulder wasn't dislocated. He let out a sigh as he looked up at Pyrrha who had a grin of satisfaction painted on her face.

"Alright, get up Jaune. We need to train. You'll never graduate from Beacon with grades like that, let's go."

"Umm, Pyrrha…"

"Yes Jaune?" She had a look of confusion on her face.

"Are you free tonight?"

"Yes Jaune, tonight is when we tr-"

"I was thinking we could umm… you know… go out for dinner…instead?"

Jaune was blushing so hard it would put a tomato to shame. The same could be said of Pyrrha. She turned her back on Jaune, not wanting him to see her equally red face. She was still trying to digest his words.

"Umm… Pyrrha… if you don't want to go, that's alright, I'll cancel the reservations." Jaune shifted on his bed, inching towards his scroll but not fully committing.

"NO! I mean… it's alright! I'm free!" Pyrrha said whirling around with a grin on her face.

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll pick you up at seven, and ummm… wear something… formal…" Jaune was beginning to blush again. So was Pyrrha.

"...Okay…" She said in a barely audible mumble.

The room was silent as Jaune was lost in thought. After about three minutes, Jaune was about to open his mouth to speak, but Nora barged in, dragging Ren in. The room then erupted in noise as Nora was bouncing around the room. Ren tried calming her down, but failed miserably. Jaune couldn't help but laugh. Today was going to be a good day.

* * *

_**Present Time…**_

"Come on Pyrrha, we should give Weiss and Yang a proper burial." Jaune whispered in an attempt to comfort Pyrrha.

"...Okay…" She whispered. She looked Jaune in the eyes. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were stained with dried tears. A tear formed on her right eye, just about to roll off and mark a trail on her soft cheeks. Jaune moved his left hand to cup her cheek as he wiped it away. She embraced him again. Jaune was stroking Pyrrha's head, gently combing out the tangles in her glossy red hair. They could have held that embrace as long as time let them, but they needed to do something more important.

As they approached Yang, the sleeping blonde began stirring. Pyrrha rushed towards her as she was trying to get up from the ground but collapsing back down.

"We need to get her to the infirmary now!" Pyrrha said without making eye contact with Jaune.

"Right."

Just as they were about to move, the two heard a rumbling noise come from the other side of the clearing. Jaune moved closer to the noise. Pyrrha followed close behind him reluctantly leaving the unconscious brawler. A few moments of uneasy shuffling in silence, they heard the noise again, but louder.

The treeline gave way to reveal a Combat Titan. It was in the shape of a massive Ursa, its height barely below the treeline. It had four arms; the two shorter arms had two machine guns mounted at the end. Its body covered in metallic armor with the White Fang symbol painted on its chest. The legs of the mecha beast were constructed of reinforced steel. Its feet had a wide base and was short so it would have a low center of gravity. The head of this monstrosity was made to resemble the shape of a transport ship cockpit. On one of its shoulders was a rocket launcher, and the other was a flamethrower that was powered by a tank full of Schnee Dust Company incendiary dust. The whole mech rumbled to a halt as its head swiveled to face the shocked couple.

"Split up so it doesn't go for Yang!" Jaune screamed as he ran forward drawing Corcea Mors. Pyrrha dashed off to the side, perpendicular to him as she fired Miló into the mechanical monstrosity. The bullets deflected off its armor, not even damaging the paint job.

It slowly made its way out of the treeline, priming its weapons and locking onto the closest target: Jaune. At that moment, Jaune knew he was done for. He saw the barrels of each weapon rotate to face him and saw the maniacal grin on the pilot's face. Everything went in slow motion for him. He saw birds flying off into the irrelevant distance. The air smelt like daisies with a hint of lilac. Jaune didn't feel panic or worry in this moment of crisis: he felt calm. He felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders and he was now weightless, free to roam all of Remnant. He tilted his head back as he see a beautiful red haired girl. Pyrrha, though they hadn't known each other as much as Jaune would have liked, he would have spent every waking hour he had left with her. His only wish was that they could've shared more than just a kiss.

"Run!" Jaune yelled as he took off towards the Battle Titan away from Yang and Pyrrha. She watched helplessly as the rockets pummeled her boyfriend into a fiery grave. Tears ran like a river flowing through the carved channels of her fingers as her heart began to eroded away from the overflowing despair that washed over her. Pyrrha sobbed uncontrollably and didn't care if she died a slow painful death. She just wanted to be with her one true love and nothing more. She wanted Jaune and herself to live somewhere in the plains of Vytal away from all the conflicts present in the life of a hunter. She wanted to raise their children in a place only she could dream of.

Pyrrha heard rumbling in front of her, but was so numb that it sounded three kingdoms away. There was a loud tearing sound that snapped Pyrrha back into reality. She looked up to see the back of person with a wild mane of golden hair stained with blood. In front of her was a twisted pile of broken metal and machinery.

"Hey, did you at least go out on a date with Jaune yet?" Yang said, struggling to control her coughing as blood ran down the side of her mouth.

Pyrrha nodded her head slowly without making eye contact with her saviour.

"That's...good to...hear…" Yang muttered as she coughed up a worrying amount of blood with each word spoken.

Pyrrha could feel the heat radiating off Yang as she collapsed onto the ground. The air around her was warm but she felt cold. The body in front of her was motionless. There was momentary silence as the world stopped spinning for the huntress.

Pyrrha's mind was elsewhere when she felt her body get up and move. Wanting to get away from everything, she started walking towards what she believed to be a haven for her. She faintly heard someone speak to her through the numbness that she felt.

"Hey, you seem to be lost. I'll point you on the right path," the man said as he raised his red sword. He was wearing some sort of Grimm mask. He had short brown hair with red streaks running through it. Pyrrha raised Miló and Akoúo̱. She swung her blade at the masked stranger but he evaded it effortlessly. He sighed as he smacked Miló out of her hand. She looked down at her blade and back to the stranger, lowering Akoúo̱. The man, without a moment's hesitation, stabbed Pyrrha through her stomach, pulling out his blade as he sheathed it and walked away.

"Thanks for the aura," he said over his shoulder into the direction Pyrrha was lying on the ground. The wind ruffling his hair and black coat as he disappeared from her view.

Her back was lying on some dried grass that offered no comfort. She felt colder than usual, but had a smile on her face, for in her eyes, she was greeted by a smiling Jaune. Pyrrha loved that idiot, for even in her final hours, he still managed to make her simile.

* * *

Ruby fired Crescent Rose, sniping a White Fang member in the chest. She reloaded her scythe with her last magazine of Schnee Dust Company paralysis bullets. Blake had just knocked out a soldier with the flat of her sheath and rejoined the crimson huntress.

"That's the last of them." Blake said, sounding content with their handiwork.

"Alright! Hey, do you know where Weiss or Yang is?" Ruby asked as she folded up Crescent Rose into its carrying position.

"I'm not quite sure. I can't get throu- Get back!" Blake's sudden change in her tone convinced Ruby to back away from the treeline of the Emerald Forest. The treeline gave way to a figure that gave Blake the chills as she drew Gambol Shroud, prompting Ruby to unfold Crescent Rose.

"Hello Blake." The man said coldly as he drew his bloodstained blade of crimson red.

* * *

Ren and Nora were retreating away from the never-ending battalion of White Fang. They were about to escape when they broke into a clearing that was more destroyed than empty. To the far right of their position was a massive piece of scorched land. There was heap of twisted metal and crude oil spilling out of its corpse, along with streaks of red that flowed here and there. There was a small patch of land that had been decimated, leaving a crater in the level ground with small fires that were still ablaze.

He noticed the faint outline of two collapsed figures. One had a wild mane of blonde hair stained with red that flowed all the way down to their lower back. They were wearing clothing that was drenched in blood. The other motionless mannequin had long luscious locks of crimson hair tied back into a perfect high ponytail. She had red stains on her chest.

Ren didn't want to believe it, but his gut told him to keep moving forward, for that is what their fallen comrades would have wanted. He glanced back at Nora to see her unfazed by this unearthly sighting. The rumble of footsteps behind them agreed with Ren's thoughts as he and his companion made a mad dash to reach the other side of the clearing. They would have cleared it had Ren not been sent airborne from a kick to his stomach.

"Ren!" Nora shouted as she helped pick up her fallen partner.

He reached down and felt a pool of blood being absorbed into his green outfit. Blood ran down the side of his mouth as his assailants appeared out of cover. One was wearing a red one piece dress with a bow tied around her waist. She had short black hair with pale green eyes that spoke of desire. The other had on a white one piece dress with a snow-white scarf wrapped around her neck. Her pale green eyes spoke of arrogance. They both wore heavy makeup and knee-high combat boots.

Ren heard the arming of rifles and the drawing of blades behind him, indicating their pursuers had caught up to them. He estimated that they were outmatched seventy-two to two. He knew escape would be impossible and so was victory. He knew that this choice would be extremely risky and though Ren wasn't the gambling type, it was a risk he had to take. He paced his breathing as he accepted his fate.

"Nora! Now!" Ren commanded her as he unholstered StormFlower and began firing at his attackers. He heard Nora fire Magnhild into the oncoming swarms of White Fang. Nora used concussion rounds instead of explosive rounds since they weren't permitted outside the school campus due to a certain incident involving a certain orange haired girl. Ren knew he shouldn't have taken Nora out for dinner, but Jaune and Pyrrha said they wanted their dorm to themselves for "reasons".

He reloaded his pistols as he took up arms with the one dressed in white. She had long black flowing hair that danced around just as much as her footwork. She faked a roundhouse kick in favour of a bombardment of high kicks. Ren raised his right arm to mitigate the damage to his body as he turned his attention over to the one in red. She advanced forward with crimson claws drawn and unleashed a series of slashes and uppercuts that failed to connect with Ren as he concentrated his aura into his palm and blasted away the girl in red to Nora. She swung Magnhild, struck the girl and knocking her back to Ren. He leapt into the air, dodging a kick aimed at him and allowed his white dressed opponent to kick the airborne girl in red in the chest, causing her to crash into a tree. Nora turned around and returned her attention to the rest of the White Fang soldiers.

"Miltia!" The one dressed in white screamed, rushing to her downed companion's aid. She was on the verge of ruining her extensive layers of makeup with tears. There was no movement from her fallen partner as crimson fluid poured from her body and onto the ground where the earth graciously drank its gift. There was a moment of silence between Ren and his other attacker. She slowly got up and glared at Ren, her eyes burning with a deep vengeance.

"You. Shall. Pay!" She growled as she advanced towards Ren. He dodged the first roundhouse kick as she firmly planted her right foot into the ground to execute a kick to his chest. Ren turned left as the bladed heel clipped his clothing and tearing it off, revealing a toned and muscular body. She leapt into the air and completed a kick right to Ren's chin. He staggered back as his assailant in white performed another kick to his stomach, adding to his already scarred body. She continued to pummel Ren with an alternation between low and high kicks. He managed to catch a flash of light as the attacker in white pulled out the set of claws she had retrieved from her fallen comrade and punctured Ren's chest, centimeters below his weakly beating heart. She leaned in and whispered words like venom with a hint of flattery.

"You fight well. If you hadn't killed my sister, under different circumstances we could have had a lot more fun. Name's Melanie," she said, stroking Ren's jaw line with a bloodstained hand. She quickly planted a kiss on his cheek, firmly enough to leave an imprint of lipstick on them. She slowly extracted the claws out of Ren's chest as he crumpled to the ground.

"Ren!" Nora shouted as she hammered a poor White Fang member into the cold unforgiving ground. She rushed over to cradle his head. His eyes were dull, as if the glossy coat that covered his magenta eyes vanished. He brought his hand up to stroke Nora's cheekbone, wiping tears that were forming in Nora's eyes. She brought his head closer to her chest as he whispered something barely audible to anyone, but crystal clear to Nora.

"Don't cry, you're more beautiful when you smile." Nora pulled back slightly to reveal a bloody grin on Ren's pale face. She smiled a bit and went back to embracing Ren. She wanted to hold this embrace for an eternity and then some. But she need to teach a certain bitch a lesson for hitting on her man.

"He's hot you know." Melanie said with too much confidence for Nora's liking as she got up to face the malicious woman. "It's a shame he had to die. He would have made a fine fiancé for me," she said shaking her head in disappointment. "Oh well, finish her off for me would you?" Melanie said as she snapped her fingers at the remaining White Fang soldiers and turned to walk away.

Nora snapped at that point. She readied Magnhild in its hammer form and rushed forward. She felt the pain of the bullets that riddled her body but she pressed on. She managed to catch up to Melanie as she cocked her arms back to slammed her war hammer onto her when Nora crumpled onto her knees. She had torn tendons in her legs, but she had one last trump card to play. She revealed Ren's StormFlower she had taken from her lover and with all her might, lifted the pistol and pulled the trigger multiple times in quick succession. Melanie fell to the ground as if the puppet master of life had cut the strings holding her in motion.

'_I guess we did it, didn't we, Ren,' _Nora thought as blood loss and exhaustion caught up to her. She breathed one final breath and fell into the black void of unconsciousness. Although she was alone, she could have sworn she heard someone speak. Faintly, but audible enough for her to make out the words.

"Mercury Black."

"Emerald Sustrai."

"Weiss Schnee."

"Jaune Arc."

"Yang Xiao Long."

"Pyrrha Nikos."

"Miltiades Malachite."

"Lie Ren."

"Melanie Malachite."

"Nora Valkyrie."

"It is time for you to fulfil the oath you've made."

The voice then faded away into the same place it came from: nothingness. Nora smiled. Maybe she would get to see Ren again. Maybe...

* * *

**Hoped you liked it, more on the way. Later!**


	3. Awakening

**Big thanks to Arieko for pointing out the pacing in the previous chapter. Hopefully you'll see why in the next few chapters. Thanks for understanding.**

* * *

"Hello Adam," Blake said cautiously, as if treading on broken glass.

"You've grown. Your mother would've been proud." Adam spoke with false flattery and kindness in his voice. If Blake hadn't acted the way she did, Ruby would have thought he was quite a gentleman.

"You don't get to speak about her," she growled.

"Blake…" Adam said as he moved closer to the Faunus.

"Shut up! You're my enemy, so either act like it or die!" Blake wasn't holding any of her anger back. Ruby had never seen her so furious.

"Fine, I guess there's no holding back then," Adam said as he rushed towards the cat Faunus. Ruby was about to engage him herself when she caught a glimpse of light quickly advancing towards her. She somersaulted out of the way. The ground that was once beneath Ruby exploded, charring the earth in a crimson blaze.

"I didn't think you had that kind of reaction time Red." The man said in such a childish voice it sent shivers down Ruby's spine.

"Torchwick! Show yourself!" She exclaimed as she tried pinpoint where he was.

"Oh, have some manners would you. You wouldn't say that to a couple of house guests now, would you?" The woman who spoke sounded playful but the words that left her lips were saturated with darkness.

"Stay out of this Cinder!" Roman said, arguing with the woman.

Ruby primed Crescent Rose, for she knew that this was going to be a fight she couldn't mess up.

* * *

Blake had just interlocked blades with Adam when she noticed Ruby encounter Torchwick and a woman with a red dress. Blake knew Ruby could take care of herself, but against two skilled warriors? Blake had to do something. If only she cou-

"Blake!" Adam shouted, forcing her to return to reality. "Don't let up! It'll be no fun if you die without even trying!" he said with a mad grin on his face. He broke the embrace of the two blades and kicked Blake square in the chest, causing her to collide with the side of the building. He slowly walked towards the fallen Faunus that was once his partner.

"No matter how strong you get, you'll never develop the darkness needed to master your blade. You're pathetic. Do me a favour and say hello to your mother." He spoke with disappointment staining his voice as he raised his sword to finish off the White Fang traitor.

Blake's eyes grew furious as she summoned a Shadow-clone and dashed out of Adam's reach. She swung Gambol Shroud's sheath at him. He raised Blush to block the attack. As soon as the two hilts made contact, Blake swung her midnight blade at Adam's side, which he blocked with his sanguine blade Wilt. They continued to swing at each other, with each strike, brought no avail to either fighters.

Adam retreated, sheathing Wilt and rushing towards Blake. She knew that his edge over her was his superhuman speed. As he rushed forward, he continued to sheath and unsheathed Wilt, creating red shock waves that sliced through the air. Blake evaded them with a series of Shadow-clones and was now rapidly descending towards Adam. She unleashed a barrage of bullets from Gambol Shroud's pistol. He deflected the bullets and dodged the onslaught of slashes Blake brought down upon him with her landing.

Blake knew she was getting nowhere. Her only way to counteract Adam's speed would be to catch him by surprise, but how? He and Blake were partners for four years. He knew everything about her, but she knew nothing about him, only his name. She didn't know his birthday or his favourite food, or even what type of Faunus he was for that matter. Blake was frustrated, she needed to find a way around-.

"You look like someone who shouldn't be here little girl," a voice boomed behind her as she felt a train hit her side, cracking her ribs and sending her airborne into the building.

"I thought I told you I don't like to share targets, Junior." Adam directed his attention to the man with crimson shades on.

"Hey! Just helping out a teammate. After all, you are on our team, right?" The man said nudging him with his elbow. He walked over to Blake who was struggling to get up. He kneed Blake in stomach as she crumpled to the ground. He continued to kick her in her stomach and chest as Adam stood there and watched.

A sudden flashback brought the Faunus cloaked in black to his burning village. He was just five when a mob of humans set his town ablaze. They pillaged their food and tore families apart with death and kidnapping. They slaughtered the children right in front of their parents eyes. He was cowering under his bed when he saw his mother being beaten to death no more than three feet away. The same way Junior was beating up Blake. He gritted his teeth and clenched his blade's hilt tighter as he had to fight the urge to slaughter every last one of them. A shout to him brought him back to reality. He calmed down and looked at the speaker.

"Adam, check this out, the cat's about to lose its ni-." Junior returned to kick Blake but was met with nothing. He gasped in shock as he felt slashes and cuts all across his body. Blood was pouring out of his wounds as he tilted his head to see who had caused him this pain.

"Lose what sorry?" Blake said as she cut a deep gash into his left shoulder. He screamed in pain as he turned around to hit the Faunus but was greeted by nothing. Blake had retreated from Junior as his back was soaked with blood.

"Adam, don't just stand there you worthless fleabag, do something!" he commanded out of agony and pain. Junior continued to swing at Blake but was rewarded with the air. She had speed over him. She dashed around him, striking at random intervals. She folded up Gambol Shroud's blade into a pistol, firing it at the frustrated Junior. She sliced at his thighs, crippling him as he fell to the ground screaming in pain.

Adam seemed unfazed, but secretly snuck in a grin as Blake dealt a few more blows to the bloody man as she backed away to face her former teammate. His hands were at his sides and his stance wasn't even a stance, he was just standing there, looking bored.

"Aren't you going to face me?" Blake asked as she clutched her left rib cage, struggling to breathe.

"There's no point, you're damaged." Adam spoke as if what he said was soundless logic.

"Are you giving me mercy? How dare you give me mer-!" Blake was caught by surprise as Adam suddenly appeared beside her. His right hand on her abdomen. Blake continued to stare at him with a calm face, but she was trying so hard not to blush.

"Listen, Blake. I'm not showing you mercy. I'm giving you a chance to die another time. If you want to meet death so badly, I'll personally guide you to him. Grow stronger. Live freely, not bound by the chains of oppression." Adam spoke so seriously that for a moment, Blake believed him, for an instant.

"Adam. Listen. I don't need to be treated as a child. So either we fight or we don't. There's no need for excuses," Blake said calmly as she turned around to pick up Gambol Shroud's case.

"Fine," he said as lowered his stance and moved his blade closer to his hand. He shifted his feet farther apart.

"No holding back," Blake said as she readied Gambol Shroud, shifting her grip into an offensive position. Adam's breathing was steady, while Blake's was sporadic. Her stance was weary and her arms shaking. He channeled his aura into his blade and arms, for he knew this would be the last time he would see Blake breathing.

Blake dashed forward at Adam and slashed wildly, hoping to catch something. '_She must be desperate,' _he thought as he swung Wilt to strike an exposed part of forearm. He could've sworn Blake grinned. She switched her gripping on her sheath to match her katanas grip. Adam noticed he'd left an opening to his right side, but it was too late. Blake had just knocked Wilt and Blush out of the way as she brought down Gambol Shroud onto Adam's head.

He had backed away enough to mitigate the damage to his head, but it did do something that he'd never expected to happen. They were a few feet away when Adam retreated, facing his opponent. There was a diagonal gash that ran from his lower left cheekbone up to his right eyebrow. Blood dripped onto the ground as the right side of his mask cracked and crumbled into oblivion. He looked back at Blake to see her unfazed by his recent revealing. He had a red pupil and black sclera and iris. He was half Grimm after all, but that didn't change the fact he had a battle to finish.

They went at each other's throats with a dance of metal and sparks. Each movement choreographed by instinct and battles that had tempered each warrior into a deadly efficient fighting machine. Each swing propelling the next, never losing motion. The dance of death that could only occur when equals collide. Their aspiration for victory was the deciding factor of this fight.

They had broken this ritualistic ceremony to face each other, figuring out the other's resolution. Blake was the first to move. She charged straight at him. Adam, not one to cower like a child when battling an equal, rushed forward towards her. There was no going back. With their resolve made up, they cocked their weapons back. Fifteen meters. Ten meters. Two meters. One.

They skidded to a stop five meters apart with their backs to each other. Both of their breathing was ragged and heavy. There was a moment of tranquility between the two Faunus. That was until Adam heard the sound of a crumpling body.

"You're not so bad yourself Blake," he said as two long lines appeared on his abdomen, soaking the area hit with crimson blood. He fell to his knees and looked up into the blue summer sky. '_Under what circumstance could this have been different?' _Adam thought as he breathed one final breath and succumbed to the unconscious void.

* * *

"Blake!" Ruby screamed as she saw her teammate fall to onto the pavement. She quickly disengaged from Cinder as she used her semblance to rush to Blake's aid. The Faunus was motionless in the crimson huntress' arms as she noticed a cut that nearly separated her in two. She cradled the dead huntress, not wanting to face the hardships reality brought with it.

"How shameful. I actually liked him. Oh well, all mutts have to die eventually," Cinder spoke as if lecturing a clueless child. Ruby gently set Blake down and turned her attention to the woman dressed in red.

"Don't refer to them as mutts," the crimson huntress whispered. She didn't care if Cinder heard it or not, it wasn't meant for her ears.

"Now, then, time to remove a pesky thorn from my side." She lit her hand ablaze as she made her way towards Ruby.

Ruby loaded Crescent Rose. One last bullet, better make it count. She squinted her eyes and locked gazes with Cinder.

"Don't forget us!" screamed a voice from the dense forest. A stray banana came flying out of the treeline and ricocheted off of her head. A man wearing a white coat and flew through the treeline and somersaulted in front of the crimson huntress. Cinder readied another fireball when an explosion knocked her off her feet.

"Miss me?" A blued haired man in a red motorcycle jacket appeared in the same direction Sun came from. Neptune smiled as he reloaded his gun. Sun unfolded Ruyi Bang and Jingi Bang in its staff form, a smirk on his face. Ruby felt glad that she had such caring friends. The White Fang were about to get a taste of Beacon, the hard way.

* * *

Ozpin was sipping his coffee in the Tower of Clockwork that watches over Beacon Academy. Glynda had just frozen the last of the White Fang that had invaded this area of tranquillity.

"Are you just going to sit there and drink your coffee? Need I remind you that your students are fighting for their lives down there?" She sounded uncomposed and stressed by the matter.

The headmaster sighed and set down his mug of soothing coffee. He retrieved his cane and made his way to the door with Glynda in tow. As they were about to leave, the door slid open to reveal General Ironwood.

"What are you doing here James? It doesn't matter, we need your help with certain situ-." Glynda spoke with urgency to the stone statue that was James Ironwood. He seemed unfazed as he pulled out a pistol and shot Glynda centimeters below her heart. She fell to the floor gasping for air as blood covered the ground. A look of confusion stained on her usual scowl.

"General…" Ozpin said cautiously as he drew his blade from its cane sheath. He had backed away the moment the gunshot rang through his eardrums.

"Ozpin. You would never know how much I have dreamt of this revolution," he said with a sadistic grin on his face. He laughed a maddening howl and just as soon as he broke, he returned to his emotionless face. He raised the pistol and shot at the headmaster. He blocked the bullets and continued reasoning with the general.

"General, you can stop this now, just dr-," he spoke as James threw his pistol away and rushed forward towards the stunned headmaster. He threw a punch at him. Ozpin dodged and swung his blade at the general. He grabbed the sword with his bare hand. Blood dripped down the blade as markings began radiating on his arm.

"Forbidden magic. So, you've discovered the ancient ruins then," Ozpin said, never breaking his nonchalant character. The general didn't speak as he snapped the blade in two.

"I have surpassed the mortal limit of power and I desire more. I must have all of Remnant for myself!" he spoke psychotically. He had never seen him this way before. During their previous meeting several months before, he seemed so composed. This wasn't the James Ironwood Ozpin knew.

"Oh, that's right, I need to get rid of a certain someone standing in my way," he said as more etchings appeared on his other arm. He attempted a left hook that was intercepted by Ozpin's sheath. He then aimed a punch square at his face. He raised his hand and concentrated his aura to block the blow.

"Ozpin!" the general screamed as his pupil and iris began vanishing, leaving two pale white eyes staring at the unfazed headmaster. He flared his nostrils as he pushed Ozpin into a corner with his never-ending onslaught of punches. Eventually, he landed one on his stomach, stunning the gray haired huntsman. He brought his two fists down on his back, slamming the headmaster into floor, cracking the ground as well as a few bones. He stood over him, raising his arms and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Die!"

The sound of a gunshot reverberated throughout the enclosed room. Ozpin stared at the chest of the general as a red pool grew above his heart. He stood motionless for a few moments before falling on his back, revealing a panting Glynda. Her right hand pressed over her still bleeding wound. Ozpin made his way over to her when members of the Atlas army appeared in the room through the door and the windows.

"Go, I'll be fine," Glynda said, struggling to speak. Ozpin reached into his back pocket and handed her a silver flask.

"Drink it. It'll help you forget what you're about to see." She nodded but didn't understand what was going on. The headmaster turned his back on her, directing his attention to the squadron in front of him.

"Now, I'm about to show you why I became headmaster," he said as he rolled up his right sleeve, revealing the same marks General Ironwood had on his arms.

* * *

Ruby had just engaged Cinder as Sun and Neptune were fending off a small army of White Fang members that had just arrived. She was swinging Crescent Rose in arcs and twirling it around her arms. She was slower than usual do to an ammo shortage. Cinder's enormous pool of aura gave her an impressive defence, but a more impressive offensive. As they fought, an explosion drew their attention away from each other.

An assault airship was firing missiles into the Tower of Clockwork. The tower's walls cracked as the barrage of rockets pelted the structure. After a few seconds, an explosion that the hit at the center of the tower caused the whole building to crumble to the ground. The debris caused a massive dust cloud that enveloped everything within a fifty meter radius in a cloud of dirt and dust.

Ruby was struggling to see few meters out in front of her when she saw a flash of light growing larger and brighter in her field of view. She somersaulted out of its way as an explosion rang throughout her body. Again, another orb of fire was sent her way and she evaded the attack once more. She used her semblance of speed to create a vortex of dust. After several seconds, she stopped, causing the dust to expand in a wide circle.

When the dust settled, she could see all the White Fang soldiers unconscious on the floor. Everyone had on the standard military outfit on, all but one. He had a red motorcycle jacket and blue hair. Ruby's heart sank as she soon realized why Sun was standing in front of the bloody corpse: it was Neptune. His legs were bloody and he had shrapnel embedded in his stomach and chest. The ground that was once occupant to a living Neptune was destroyed and seared.

"Roman, how was your nap?" Cinder asked coldly as a man in a white tuxedo stained with blood appeared out from a tree.

"Damn you monkey…" he said as he coughed up blood, using his cane to support his body weight.

"You scum… you're gonna pay!" Sun screamed in a blinded rage as he ran towards the wanted criminal. He swung Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in nun-chuck form, unloading a barrage of bullets onto Roman. He managed to deflect and block a few bullets but he wasn't at full strength. When Sun finally managed to calm down enough to stop, the criminal was more hollow than solid. Sun turned his attention to Cinder. His entire body covered in his foe's blood as he slowly walked over to her. Ruby started to walk towards Sun, but he gave her a cold stare.

"Stay outta my way," he spoke the words with hate, not words with the playfulness Sun was known for.

"Oh my, it seems the monkey wants to play. Well then, let's play," Cinder said as she raised her hand, igniting the air around it on fire.

Sun let out a war cry as he rushed forward swinging his nun-chucks at a blazing pace, but with every swing, it was met with a barrier of aura she had constructed. With each swing, he began to understand arrogance behind the choices he had made, but it was too late.

Cinder called forth a pillar of flames from the ground beneath Sun as she retreated away from the monkey Faunus. He tried to evade but realized his feet were frozen in place, courtesy of her frost magic she cast on top of her fire pillar. Sun breathed in a final breath as he set her gaze on Ruby as she watched in horror. He winked at her with his stupid grin on his face. It was his own fault he's dead. He just hoped Ruby didn't die a pointless death like he was about to.

* * *

_**Three thousand two hundred and ten feet above the City of Vale...**_

"Are you ready?" A soldier asked.

"Yes," she replied automatically.

"Two minutes before we reach the LZ!" screamed the pilot.

"You remember your mission, execute it," the soldier commanded towards her.

"Yes sir," she replied, getting up from her seat and walking towards the cargo bay door.

"Hey," the soldier called out to the freckle faced girl.

Yes?" she replied.

"Nothing," the soldier said, turning his head away from the girl dressed in black and green. With that final remark, she jumped out of the transport ship and into the bright blue sky.

"Don't let personal attachments affect this mission Penny," he whispered as the cargo bay doors closed.

* * *

Fire engulfed Sun as Ruby let out a small cry of help. Cinder let out a laugh as she watched the helpless huntress stare into the fire that had consumed her comrade. After a few moments, Cinder ended the inferno. What was left behind was his two nun-chucks, scorched and blackened.

"Now, should we finish what we started little girl?" Cinder asked. Ruby picked up Crescent Rose and glared at her. "Not the talkative type, alright. Your end will be quick anyways." She raised her hand and called forth a fire pillar. As the ground was set ablaze, Cinder let out a smug laugh and turned to walk away. The air smelt like roses as a deep searing pain blossomed above her right hip. She moved her hand over it to feel blood gushing out of the wound.

"I'm not a little girl, I'm a huntress," Ruby said ten feet behind her. Cinder let out a scream as Ruby rushed forward with Crescent Rose in hand, determined to end this madness one way or the other.

"You little brat!" Cinder said as she conjured up orbs of fire and unleashed it upon Ruby. She used her semblance of speed to evade all of her attacks. She swung Crescent Rose at Cinder but each attack blocked by her aura barrier. Ruby seemed unfazed as she continued to swing her scythe, never losing momentum.

With her final bullet, she fired the last shot as the blade of Crescent Rose tilted back. Ruby left a trail of rose petals with her every move. With each impact, she moved faster and faster. Soon, her arms and scythe were a blur. Cinder couldn't keep up with the barrier for long as the blood loss was making her weak in the knees and light-headed. She needed an opening between the red caped huntress.

'_There!' _Cinder thought as she threw a fireball through an opening in her barrier. She sent Ruby flying into to the ground. Ruby had third degree burns on her stomach. Cinder didn't pull this off without going unscathed either. She had lacerations all across her abdomen and right arm. She slowly made her way to Ruby. She was tightly gripping her right hip with her left hand as she set her right hand on fire.

"This is the cost of war. You either live or die. So die!" Cinder shouted with anger flowing through her pale white face. She wound her arm back to throw the flame. "Be gon-!" she spoke as blood flew from her mouth. She looked to find a silver blade had pierced her right lung. The blade then disappeared as soon as it appeared. Cinder fell to the ground revealing a short orange haired girl with a pink bow and freckles on her face.

"Penny!" Ruby exclaimed as she struggled to get up. Penny looked calm, but her eyes looked saddened. "Hey Penny, thanks for the he-," the crimson huntress said happily until she was interrupted by a sharp pain in both of her legs. She fell on her knees, blades forcibly inserted into her thighs and femur. Ruby looked up at her friend with disbelief on her face.

"By orders of the King, I am to leave no survivors to stand in his highness' way," Penny spoke too monotonously, like that line was rehearsed. She looked at Ruby with regretful eyes. What she said next was up what made the ball of energy want to break down.

"I'm sorry, Ruby," Penny said. Her words were stained with sorrow and regret as she commanded one of her remaining blades to end Ruby's suffering in this accursed world.

* * *

As the red-haired girl fell through the black void, she heard a voice off in the distance. It spoke in such a deep voice that Ruby thought it was thunder at first.

"Mercury Black."

"Emerald Sustrai."

"Weiss Schnee."

"Jaune Arc."

"Yang Xiao Long."

"Pyrrha Nikos."

"Miltiades Malachite."

"Lie Ren."

"Melanie Malachite."

"Nora Valkyrie."

"Hei Xiong."

"Blake Belladonna."

"Adam Taurus."

"Roman Torchwick."

"Cinder Fall."

"Ruby Rose."

"The oath you swore to us shall be honored. Your time is now. Rise!" As soon as the voice finished his sentence, it faded away into the void.

A bright light blinded Ruby as she was engulfed in warmth. Was this the end? She was about to find out...

* * *

"...by…...Ru…..Ruby!"

The crimson huntress could see the faint outline of many people. The most noticeable was one with a mane of magnificent golden hair.

"Ugh, where am I?" The red-haired girl said as she sat up, scratching her head.

"Ruby!" the blonde woman shouted as she embraced her little sister.

"Stop that Yang, it hurts," Ruby groaned as she tried to move away, but her older sister had her in bear hug, so movement would be near impossible. After a few moments, she released the embrace enough for Ruby look around the room, only to find they were outside on a scorched piece of land. She noticed familiar faces surrounding her.

"Blake?" She gave slight nod.

"Weiss?" She gave her a soft discontent sigh.

"Jaune?" He gave her two thumbs up with a grin from ear to ear.

"Pyrrha?" She gave Ruby a content greeting.

"Ren?" He gave her a quick glance.

"Nora!" The orange haired girl jumped in, too excited to wait.

"What are we doing here?" Ruby asked as Yang helped her up.

"We… have absolutely no idea," Weiss said as she gave a slight shake of her head.

"Any idea on how we got here?" Ruby asked and again, Weiss answered.

"No clue," the heiress let out a soft grunt in her confusion.

"Oh Weiss. Cheer up! The gangs all here!" Yang playfully punched Weiss in the shoulder as the heiress gave her a look of frustration.

"Uhh, now what?" Jaune asked, uncertain in this foreign place.

"Let's take a look around," Ren suggested. Everyone seemed to agree as the team of eight went to scavenge the barren landscape.

* * *

"Look at them, walking contently off into the distance," a man said as he stared into the Rift of Time. The voice of the man was haggard and old, but still flared with anger.

"Calm down Enor. We were like that once. Besides, you're going to get nowhere with that attitude." This time a woman spoke with a raspy and dry voice, never making eye contact.

"But they are supposed to be our successors! Their supposed to don these white cloaks and keep the balance!" The degenerate hag spoke, choking on a cough halfway through his rant as he continued.

"This is unacceptable! We need to do som-!" the old man spoke with urgency.

"Enough," boomed a loud, deep voice from beside him.

"...Fine…" Enor calmed down enough for the man to speak.

"In due time, they shall become your successors, but for now, let it be. After all, a Guardian's job is never easy."

"Yes, but was the amnesia necessary?" a girl no more than the age of seven spoke.

"They mustn't know that they have perished, not yet at least," the deep voiced man spoke.

"Ani, you shouldn't concern yourself with such trivial matters." A voice of a young man spoke, his words were warm and soothing.

"Okay, Ytano," the young girl smiled as she glanced over at the boy who had just spoken through her white cloak.

"Honestly, how could have children possibly been accepted as a Guardian. This is ludicrous!" Enor said with a growl through his old voice.

"At least we aren't the ones who lost control over their designated kingdom," Ytano said with mockery in his words.

"You brat! I was _assigned_ to protect Vacuo. I _volunteered _to take part of Mistral. You should be thanking me," Enor spoke with words begging for attention.

"Oh, thank you mister Enor sir. Please accept my token of gratitude and don't pillage our peaceful village and steal all of our food for the winter," Ytano spoke with sarcasm that enraged the older man.

"Listen kid, you don't know who you're talking to," Enor spoke, trying to intimidate the younger man. It only served to continue the dispute.

"I know I'm talking to an old fossil," Ytano retorted angrily.

"You dense headed idiot! I should have you ban-!" The older man started but was interrupted once again.

"Silence!" The thunderous voice boomed. "This is exactly how this whole fiasco started, with you too upsetting the balance you were suppose to protect!"

"It's not my fault Vacuo is ruled by a fat lazy king and an even lazier Guardian!" Ytano pointed angrily at Enor.

"Mistral would have been _destroyed _during the Faunus Rights Revolution had it not been for the intervention of Vacuo troops," the older man spoke with highness that enraged the younger man.

Ytano got up and walked over to Enor's seat made of white marble. He grabbed the older man by the collar of his cloak and picked him up fairly easily. He cocked his arm back and punched him in the face. He punched Enor once more and his hood came off, revealing a gray haired wolf Faunus. He had a bloody nose and pale green eyes. He punched the Faunus again, bruising his right eye. He wound up his arm again but was met with contact on two parts of his body.

One was restrictive and gripped tightly around his right wrist. Claws dug into his skin as a thin trail of blood ran down his arm. The other was a softer, gentler touch that encompassed his waist. He looked down to find Ani tightly hugging his waist.

"Please. Stop this Ytano. It's not like you. Please. Stop," Ani said as she tightened her grip.

"Let go of Enor, Ytano. Now," the taller man said as his arm covered in black beowolf hair and claws gripped the attacker harder. Ytano gave a quick glance at the wolf Faunus he had just assaulted. He gave a discontent grunt as he tossed the older man back into his seat.

"Anako, take Enor to his room," the deep voiced man instructed.

"Yes," the older woman replied as she slung one of Enor's arms over her shoulder and walked out of the white marble room.

"Ani, take Ytano to his room," he said, sounding disappointed and stressed as he brought his left hand up, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, Ordan," she said, devoid of all her playfulness as she guided Ytano down a corridor opposite of the one Enor and Anako went down.

Soon, it was just the just Ordan that was left in the marble white meeting room. He slumped back down in his marble chair, rubbing his temples. He heard laughter come from the Rift of Time. He smiled as he saw a girl with a wild mane of golden hair holding the hand of a girl with white hair tied back into an off centered ponytail chasing a girl with short orange hair dragging a poor boy with a green outfit. The other four that lingered behind were happily conversing with one another.

"Maybe this time, their choices will actually benefit the world," he said to himself as he closed the rift and exited the room.

* * *

**Hoped you enjoyed, more on the way. Later!**


	4. Trial Through Fire

"C'mon Ren!" Nora exclaimed as she dragged her struggling boyfriend by the collar of his shirt.

"Weiss, you're too slow!" Yang playfully shouted as she ran hand in hand with the heiress in tow.

"Yang! Stop! Have you no cont- Ahh!" the white haired huntress began to complain as the blonde fighter picked up Weiss in a bridal carry and sprinted after Nora. Her head was centimeters away from her voluptuous chest. Weiss clamped her eyes shut as she tried to hold back a blush. Yang, noticing this, brought herself closer so the heiress' face was touching her breasts. Weiss let a small gasp of shock and blushed harder. That only served to fire Yang up even more as she ran faster.

Ren, seeing no point in this race, wanted to stop, but his girlfriend's energy made his wish impossible. He breathed a sigh of defeat as he ran to regain his balance and figured he would humour her. He ran ahead of Nora and lowered his back. Without missing a beat, she jumped onto his back and laughed as Ren sped up his pace.

"They certainly know how to have fun," Pyrrha said as she and Jaune walked together holding hands.

"Well, when you mix Yang and Nora into anything, something is bound to happen," Ruby said as she stretched, ending the motion with both her hands behind her head.

"Maybe Blake should teach them how to be more nonchalant," Pyrrha said, nodding her head in the Faunus' direction. She gave her a discontent look, but brushed it off as she sped up her stride to close the distance between her and the racing pairs.

"As quiet as ever," Jaune said as he scratched the back of his head with his available hand.

"C'mon. We don't wanna drag everyone else with our slow pace," Ruby said with a sly grin as she used her semblance, leaving rose petals in her wake.

"He-hey! Ruby! Pyrrha, shou-," Jaune turned to face her mid sentence but was interrupted by a shouting Yang.

"Aren't you going to carry Pyrrha?" She shouted behind her to the standing couple. Jaune audibly gulped, but turned around so she could ride on Jaune's back. As he ran, her crimson hair fluttered in the presence of the wind. She smiled and buried her head into the nook between his neck and right shoulder, inhaling his scent as she thought to herself. '_Maybe we can raise our children here,' _Pyrrha closed her eyes and sighed into Jaune's shoulder. '_Maybe.'_

They had been running for twelve minutes and the landscape barely changed. Aside from more greenery that popped up here and there, the view stayed barren.

"Do you know where we're going?" Jaune asked Weiss as he carried his smiling girlfriend on his back.

"Nope!" Yang replied as she carried the still blushing heiress, her eyes clamped shut.

"Let go of me!" Weiss shouted as she struggled to get free from the blonde's grasp.

"Aww, that's not nice to say snow angel." Yang gave a pout as she set her down on the brown grass. Weiss dusted herself off and gave the brute a quick glare before walking away.

"Well, at least she didn't yell," Pyrrha said optimistically.

"Hey, do you guys know where Blake is?" Ruby asked to no one in particular.

"I heard she was going to scout ahead," Ren said as Nora contently patted his head.

"Oh, that's cool. I just wish she-," the crimson huntress spoke, but was interrupted mid sentence when she heard the sound of shouting off in front of them.

"We'd better get a move on," Yang said worriedly for that was the same direction Weiss and Blake went in. The group agreed as they sprinted into a burnt part of land with just exposed dirt that had not seen hydration for weeks. In front of them, Blake and Weiss had their weapons drawn. There was another group of eight in front of them, armed as well, which prompted the six who had just arrived to ready themselves as well. The man in a Grimm mask and black coat was the first to break the silence.

"Now, might I ask what you are doing here Blake?" The man spoke with a cold intent behind his words.

"No you may not," the cat Faunus replied bitterly.

"Ohhh, so good to see you Red. I'm just dying to catch up," the man with a white tuxedo spoke half heartedly with a mix of mockery.

"Torchwick." Ruby gritted her teeth as she loaded a bullet into Crescent Rose.

They stood there in silence. The wind blew lightly against the grass blades. Neither side dared to move. A leaf broke off from a dying birch tree. It held holes from the insects that ate it for survival as it fluttered around the air and it spiralled slowly towards the ground.

The moment the leaf hit the ground, the two parties ran head first towards each other, weapons raised. They ran with intent to settle their differences once and for all. They were fifty meters out to begin with. Thirty five. Twenty meters. Five. A brilliant flash of white light blinded the oncoming teams, stopping them in their place. Yang raised Ember Celica to help improve her vision through the impairing light; her team followed suit.

As the light began to diminish, she noticed that there was a symbol marked onto the ground. The outer ring had etchings that seemed like gibberish to Yang, but Weiss seemed to recoil in shock. The blonde could hear the heiress mutter something to herself. She then turned to Yang and translated what she said.

"Through broken gates and fallen graves; let the shining light guide your way," Weiss said as her face drained with colour. Yang was about to reach of her when the ground beneath them trembled as the symbols crumbled into oblivion. A being rose from the black void draped in a white cloak. The upper portion of his face was unrecognizable, the lower half of his face revealed a pale white mouth with wrinkles carved into their skin. He spoke with a thunderous voice that didn't match his appearance.

"I am Ordan: Guardian of Balance. Alongside me are four other Guardians, and together we make up the council that keeps peace in Remnant." As he spoke, four more white cloaked figures rose from the void. The man called Ordan spoke once the final person draped in white came into view. "Out of the sixteen present, four will be chosen to be their successors," he said as he motioned to the four standing behind him before continuing. "There will be three trials that each one of you must complete for you to qualify as a successor. I will divulge them later on. For now, your task will be to reassemble an ancient artifact. Pieces will be scattered across this landscape. Each team of two will have a specific relic they must reconstruct. Before we depart, is there any knowledge you would like to attain from me?"

Blake was the first to speak up. "Where are we and how did we get here?"

"In due time, you shall find everything needed to understand your role," the one in charge spoke with a deep monotone voice.

"What happens to the rest of us if we don't make it?" Adam asked.

"Later, my child," he replied in the same voice he answered Blake's question.

"Well, who are our partners then?" Pyrrha asked.

"They will be the first person you see once the trial begins," he replied without a moment's hesitation.

"Just like initiation! Weiss, we'll be unstoppable!" Ruby shouted as the heiress rolled her eyes.

"Why would we want to become a successor anyways?" Weiss commented as she struggled to wrap her head around this idea.

"All of your questions will be answered in due time," the deep voice replied to her, leaving more questions than answers.

"Wait, hold up. So let me get this straight. You want us to do something we don't even know about, to get a reward we don't even know if we want, without answering any of our questions?" Yang asked so bluntly that the elder Guardian was stunned by her audacity to ridicule his position.

"Any _other_ points you would like to make before the trial commences?" he said, clearly avoiding the question. The air was silent and heavy with thought. After a moment of tranquility, Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but did something extremely unexpected.

"Ha! I told you Weiss! The Guardians! They do exist!" the crimson huntress shouted with glee as she pointed at the cloaked figures and ran around the heiress shouting in overjoyed victory. Yang looked questioningly at her baby sister. Weiss just stared blankly at Ruby while she ran laps around her. Blake face palmed and team JNPR shared a look of confusion.

Roman sighed as he raised Melodic Cudgel and pulled the trigger. An explosion rang through the air as it drew the attention of everyone. The criminal was covered in confetti and his cane turned into a water gun. Yang could hear one of the Guardians snicker before the guy in charge spoke up.

"By the way, your weapons and dust don't work here. Your aura has also been reduced to minimal amounts," he said, turning his head to see an unpleased Roman.

"Any more remarks and non-sense you want to get out of your system?" Silence once again filled the air. "Then be off!" He brought his hand down and the earth below disintegrated into nothingness, dragging everyone into blackness.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed as she used the rubble to try to get to her sister.

"Yang!" The crimson huntress tried to use Crescent Rose's gun but it went up in smoke and flames, turning into a dove with a rose clamped between its beak. It flew away from the falling Ruby into the hand of one of the Guardians standing above on a glowing white surface.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed once more as she was greeted by the void filled with nothing. Silence encompassed her as she slowly succumbed to the unconscious void.

* * *

"...iss….Wei….Weiss….Weiss!"

The heiress' eyelids fluttered as she faintly saw the outline of a yellow figure kneeling over her against the bright summer day. She slowly sat up rubbing the back off her head. The blonde hugged her so tight she thought she was going to suffocate.

"I so happy that you're okay!" the woman exclaimed, snapping Weiss out of her fazed state of mind.

"Yang, let go of me," Weiss struggled to say against a hug with the strength that matched an Ursa.

"Oh, right, sorry, " the brute said as she let go of the heiress. She struggled for air as she regained her composure. She got up and surveyed the burnt landscape. "Do you know where we are?"

"No. I woke up over there, and I saw you lying here, and I couldn't just abandon you, so I tried waking you up for a couple of minutes and now we're here," Yang said contently with a grin on her face. She pointed to spot no more than ten feet away.

"In any case, we should be going. Our first priority will be to find the others," the heiress spoke when she caught a glimpse of a grinning Yang. "What?"

"I guess we're partners Weissy!" she said as she nudged her lightly on the arm. The white haired huntress rolled her eyes before continuing.

"Anyways, if we stumble across any pieces of our relic-, say, what is our relic?" Weiss asked as she looked around to find anything that stood out to her.

"You mean this?" Yang said with a sly grin as she pulled out a lower half of a small broken mirror from her jacket pocket. It had a gold frame with intricate designs and symbols. The glass was pristine had it not been for the missing parts needed to reconstruct the mirror. It reminded Weiss of a mirror her mother gave her for her fifth birthday, two days before she disappeared from her life.

"A mirror, great. Come on, let's go," she said as she turned without saying anymore. She could hear Yang call for her to slow down, but she was already lost in thought. '_Those markings on the ground. The only time I've ever seen them mentioned were at my family's funeral. Does that mean…. No, it can't be, can it?' _The heiress continued to ponder as the duo continued walking. '_Successor. To a throne that watches over Remnant? Hardly more than make belief. Must be a bad dream, but still, a Guardian?' _She began causing herself a headache trying to comprehend this when she felt a tap on the shoulder. She turned around to see a concerned Yang.

"You alright?" She asked as she made her way towards Weiss. The heiress raised her right hand for the signal to stop as she began rubbing her temples to mitigate the pain in her head.

"I'm fine, I just need to stop," she said as she sat down on the warm dry grass and lay on her back. '_Maybe some rest is in order,' _she thought as she felt the warmth of the grass against her skin. The cool breeze that blew against her only served to make sleep that much more welcoming. '_I'm sure Yang won't mind,' _she thought as she drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

"Hey Blake, you think that this belongs to our relic?" Ruby screamed as she jogged towards her, holding a part of something. They've been scavenging for twelve minutes in an abandoned farm half a kilometer from where they woke up.

"I think so, let's see," she said as she took out her piece of the relic that they kept. It was in the shape of a sphere. It had the top two-thirds missing. A portion of what they had was missing as well; there was a hole in the middle of their current piece that connected to the outer wall. It was silver with gold patterns outlining the outside of the sphere.

When Ruby came to a stop in front of her, she stuck out her hand with a piece of silver with gold patterns etched into the outside. It had the shape of a broken sphere. This got Blake's hopes up as her section of their artifact and Ruby's piece began vibrating. It shook more as the two portions got closer together. About ten centimeters apart, the crimson huntress' part flew out of her hand and onto the Faunus' piece, interlocking perfectly. Ruby screamed in excitement.

"Woohoo! One down, more to go!" she said as she pumped her fist in the air. Blake looked uninterested but her mouth moved up at the corners just a bit as she realized that Ruby was starting to rub off on her. She rolled her eyes as they made their way to the doorway. She heard footsteps coming from down the hall.

"Quick, get down!" Blake whispered urgently as she dragged Ruby out of the aisle and behind some old barrels. The Faunus had her hand over her leaders mouth and placed a finger over hers, signalling for silence. Ruby nodded as Blake removed her hand from her mouth and turned her attention to the doorway. She could hear footsteps fifty feet away. '_They must've heard us, dammit,' _she thought angrily as she took a quick glance at Ruby. Her eyes were glued to the door as she peeked behind some flour bags. '_At least she's quiet when need be.' _She returned her gaze back to the doorway. She closed her eyes as she tried to make out what they were saying.

"...Are you sur… one's he… ma… wind…" The first voice was a male's. He was with someone. She couldn't tell who the other one was for all the noise the man was making. Blake had heard enough as she peeled her eyes off the door and went to scavenge for a weapon. She found a broken wooden beam and a wooden pole that once belonged to a rake. She nudged Ruby softly on the arm and showed her the pole. She nodded and took the pole in her hands. Blake readied her makeshift blade and returned her look to the door.

She could barely make out the shadow of the two people. One had long hair and what looked like a dress. The other had short hair and was wearing something bulky. Ruby and Blake continued to look as the shadows grew bigger. Eventually, after what seemed like hours for the hiding duo, the two shadows made their way through the doorway. One was dressed in red and the other dressed in white. The one in red had the same idea as Blake: she had an iron rod used to poke burning firewood. Blake estimated they were ten feet away from them. She nudged Ruby again on the arm and raised five fingers. She nodded as the Faunus went back to spying.

They had just moved a foot closer when Blake returned to look. The one dressed in red was in front while the one dressed in white lingered behind. They were five feet away when Blake started to count down with her fingers. Five. Four. They inched closer as the seconds ticked by. Three. Two. Ruby gripped her weapon tighter as Blake readied her wooden plank. One. Now! The two jumped out of cover, surprising the one dressed in white but the one in red stood their ground. She was strong, Blake knew sh-

"Jaune?" Ruby said as she looked questioningly at the frightened boy cowering on the ground.

Blake blinked and looked at her opponent as she did the same.

"Blake?" The girl asked, squinting her eyes.

"Pyrrha?" The Faunus asked as she studied her more closely. She had long red hair tied back into a ponytail and had golden armor. Her stance and fighting style matched the voice she heard. It was Pyrrha.

"Umm, are you guys gonna stop?" Ruby asked as she looked from Blake to Pyrrha. Blake had only just noticed that they still were interlocking weapons. Pyrrha was the first to move her iron pole back as Blake rested her wooden plank on the ground.

"Say, Jaune, why are you covered in flour?" Blake asked as her cat eyes gave her enhanced vision in dark places.

"Ummm, you see, I was, ummm, how do I put this? I, kinda…" Jaune was struggling to find words to explain his predicament.

"It's fine. Forget it," the Faunus said with a brush of her hand for dismissal of the explanation. She heard Jaune breathe a sigh of relief as Pyrrha giggled a bit.

"Well, at least we found our friends, that's something, right?" the hunter joked as he lightly rubbed the back of his head in hopes of receiving a response.

"Sure," Blake said nonchalantly as she made her way to the doorway after picking up her wooden plank. "I'll be outside."

"Cold as ever," Pyrrha remarked as she turned to ask Ruby something. "What is your artifact?"

"A sphere of some sorts. Yours?" the crimson huntress asked with double the curiosity.

"This," Jaune said as he took out a hilt. It was gold with silver etched into the metal. There was a ruby embedded at the bottom of the hilt. The top part of the handle was missing, along with the blade and weapon guard.

"Cool. Hey how about I help you and you help us?" Ruby asked excitedly at the couple.

"Sure. I hope Blake doesn't mind the wait," Jaune said, pointing his thumb towards the doorway.

"I think she enjoys the alone time," Ruby said with an optimistic tone.

"Well, let's get to work," Pyrrha said as she ripped open a bag of flour.

* * *

Weiss felt a small bump as it stirred her out of her much-needed sleep. She brought a hand up to rub her eyes. When she opened her eyes, she saw an outline of a golden figure with a wild mane of hair against the bright summer sun. It reminded Weiss of an angel.

"Hey, I didn't mean to wake you from your sleep," a soothing voice spoke to her, gently bringing her back to reality.

"Where am I?" Weiss spoke coarsely.

"Somewhere," the figure spoke with an angelic voice. "Do you wanna sleep a little longer Snow Angel?"

"No, I'm fine, and don't call me that," the heiress said as she climbed out of Yang's arms and stretched hers.

"By the way, you used my breast as a pillow," the blonde said casually to Weiss. The white haired huntress turned away with a reddening blush that couldn't be controlled. The heat radiating off her face could be felt by Yang as she placed a hand on the heiress' shoulder and spun her around.

"Aww, Weissy, no need to be embarrassed. Ruby did it all the time when she was younger," Yang said coyly. "Although, you are cuter when you show your emotions, Snow Angel," she said as she rubbed the back of her fingers against her tender cheek which was warm to the touch. Weiss couldn't help but gulp audibly as Yang brushed her silky smooth hair out behind her ears.

"A-a-anyways, we sh-sh-should be going okay? Okay," the heiress said as she turned and walked away from the blonde.

They passed a pile of twisted metal that they searched to no avail. Yang lingered behind longer than usual. After a few minutes of walking, Weiss' blush was under control, enough where she could hide it, but not as much as she would have liked. Yang was the first to break the silence. "Hey, Weiss, if you're still embarrassed, don't be, cuz-" Yang said childishly. The heiress turned on her heels and stopped abruptly.

"Look, could you just drop the matter. I just…" Weiss started as was beginning to realize what was happening. Yang's face was half a foot away from Weiss'. The smell of lilac and lavender filled the air Weiss inhaled. The combination with her violet eyes was intoxicating for the young heiress. The golden mane only served to frame her perfection that was her face. The blonde also was taken aback by the smell of peppermint that radiated naturally from the white haired girl. Her scar only made her bright blue eyes that much more noticeable. Her slim face only established her slender build. Her hair gently swayed from the wind. They stood there like that for a minute, admiring one another.

"Umm, Yang, I ju-" Weiss started as she looked deep into those violet eyes as Yang suddenly placed her fingers under her chin to tilt her head back and firmly planted a kiss on her soft tender lips. Through the heiress was a huntress, she was so taken aback by the beauty that was Yang Xiao Long that her senses were dulled. At first, Weiss recoiled a bit, but then kissed Yang back harder. They held the kiss for several seconds. The white haired girl's heart was beating, throbbing for more, but the blonde pulled away as Weiss' lips were slowly chasing the brawlers retreating ones.

"Sorry, but it kinda felt right, you know?" Yang said apologetically as she stared into Weiss' clear blue eyes. The sun made them glisten and shine brighter than a shooting star. Weiss smiled a bit and nodded her head.

"C'mon, let's go-," Yang said as she grabbed her hand to guide the heiress when she jumped back slightly. The white haired girl peered over her shoulder to find a glaring Ruby Rose no more than a foot in front of the blonde.

"Yang! How could you?" the crimson huntress exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.

"Ruby, I can explain. See-," the brawler started as her sister interrupted her.

"How could you be dating Weiss without telling your sister about it! I mean I would accept Blake not telling me about it, but you!" She breathed a sigh of defeat as she continued. "Oh well, I read one of Blake's books and what's next, a homemade dinner? Maybe a romantic walk by the beach? Ohhh! Maybe…" Ruby continued listing off suggestions as Yang and Weiss both looked from each other and back to Ruby, shocked to say the least.

"We're not dating, Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Sure…anyways, how about…," the crimson huntress brushed off the heiress' attempt for an excuse as she began to list more romantic scenarios.

"Well, at least there's that benefit for letting Ruby lead us," Pyrrha said as she wrapped her arms around Jaune's and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I still can't believe she stole one of my books," Blake said coldly.

"Hey, cheer up, at least it's making someone else happy," Jaune said as he pointed at the shouting Ruby and the still stunned couple.

"By the way, where is Ren and No-," Jaune started as he shout from above interrupted him.

"Nora!" Ren screamed as he fell from a tree branch two feet away with a thud. An orange haired girl landing on his back like a mattress made Jaune cringe.

"So, how long have you been up there?" Pyrrha said, eyeing the branch and the Ren.

"About three hours," Nora replied ecstatically. A groaning Ren caught the attention of the four onlookers.

"Is he going to be okay?" Blake asked without making eye contact with his girlfriend.

"Yup, cause he's Ren!" she said cheerily as she helped Ren get up off the floor.

"Please, don't ever do that again," the boy dressed in green asked as he struggled to straighten his laughed as a content Ruby, an innocent looking Yang and a blushing Weiss soon joined them. They chatted for a bit, not realizing that someone was missing.

Blake had left before anyone else, in the direction they agreed on heading. She looked up into the orange-violet mix that filled the sky as the sun was leaving them, inviting the moon and stars to take its place. '_I wonder if anyone else is taking this as seriously as I am?' _she thought. '_I just want to get this over with,' _ she thought as she heard her name being called from several meters away. She got up and began walking towards the noise, wondering what Ruby was going to say about her absence now.

* * *

"Yo, Adam. Cinder what's to talk to you," a man with red sunglasses said as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Tell to her she can wait," he said as he lifted a hatch and stared into the darkness that accompanied the cellar.

"Yeah, but-," the man began retorting but was cut off as Adam jumped into the pitch black room, slamming the hatch shut to emphasize his point.

"Damn you, Adam," Junior said as he turned to leave. He made his way up the staircase and into the burnt remains of the living room. Melanie and Milta were conversing on a broken couch. Emerald, Cinder and Roman were gathered around a dining room table that had seen better days.

"Where's Mercury?" Junior asked Emerald who didn't bother to look at him as she responded coldly, "Finishing his job, unlike _you._"

"Hey, quiet you little brat! If I had-," Junior started as Adam interrupted, leaning against the doorframe of the basement.

"Had what? More guts or more of a brain?" The man with the Grimm mask insulted him. He could hear the Malachite twins snicker at the remark. Adam made his way over to Cinder, bumping Junior in the shoulder to signal him to get lost. He grunted as made his way out of the house.

"What do you want?" Adam asked without taking the empty seat at the table.

"Cold as ever," Cinder said somewhat contently as the man in the black coat stood there unmoving.

"Is that all? Or are you going to bore me to death?" Adam asked in an annoyed tone.

"Very well. We're moving out in the morning tomorrow and we want you to scout the path we'll travel," Cinder said calmly with a subtle grin.

"We done?" Adam not so much asked, but demanded in an annoyed tone.

"Yes."

Before the word left her lips, Adam had turned and left the room. He could hear gossip; most likely about him. He made his way back to the cellar hatch on the ground, opened it and discreetly entered the dark room.

It wasn't much more than seven feet high and three feet across. It was damp and smelt like rotten wood. '_A storm must've hit recently,' _he thought was he noticed on some wooden planks supporting the tunnel had rotted and were waterlogged. The dirt that encompassed this death trap was slowly tumbling out of the walls and onto the ground. Streams of water were pouring out of the sides to punctuate its old age.

After a few minutes of walking, he came to a wider section: a ten feet tall square room. In the center of the room was a wooden crate with maps and books scattered across it. They were an assortment of miscellaneous items thrown across the floor. As Adam walked into the room, the sudden temperature drop caught his attention. The closer he got to the wooden crate, the colder it got.

Once Adam reacted the crate, he was on the verge of shivering. There were marks across a map of Vale and more across a map of Remnant. The books scattered on top of the wooden crate were written in a native tongue he couldn't make out. He brushed everything off the crate and picked up the container. It was heavy with something. With a shift of his weight, he brought the crate down, shattering it into tiny pieces.

There were stone tablets carved in the same language as the books. Adam counted twenty some tablets to be present. Along with the stone tablets, he found a small container and a letter attached to it. It had no markings of a name on it. The letter's wax seal of Vale broke easily as he unfolded the letter and read it to himself.

_To whom this may concern,_

_I don't have much time, they're hunting me down. Inside the crate is my research and discoveries that can help bridge the gap between mortal and Grimm. I know this may sound like complete rubbish and trust me, I've been there, but you've got to believe me._

_There are coordinates in the black box inside along with this letter. There should be another crate there with more of these stone tablets there. Take the one stone tablet that is different coloured than the rest to that place with the coordinates._

_They're knocking at the door. Please, just take a chance and trust me. _

It continued, but was charred and ripped in some places. Adam stood there, clenching the letter. He tore the letter into pieces as he picked up the small black box and opened it to find a small folded up map with a clear marker to signify the destination the person intended for the reader to go.

'_I can't believe I'm following through with this crap,' _he thought as he picked up a black stone tablet with white chalk imprints along its surface. It was small enough to fit in his largest coat pocket along with the map without looking suspicious.

He took one last look at the room as he left the old cellar to rot in undisturbed peace; burying everything in it.

* * *

**More on the way, hoped you enjoyed. Later!**


	5. Worth Dying For

Weiss lingered behind as the group continued to walk through the waist-high grass; shoulder deep in thought. '_What do those Guardians want with us? We're just immature teens! Well, some are, anyways. And what is it with all the trials and other nuisances that they make us accomplish? Are they just toying with us, or are they speaking the truth.' _Weiss could feel her headache coming back as she heard somebody shouting.

"Hey, Ice Queen! Hurry up, don't make me get Yang to carry you!" Jaune shouted over his shoulder as he ran farther ahead.

'_Idiot! He picks a moment like this to joke around and mock me? And we have this whole wild goose chase to deal with! None of it matters if you're dead! I can't be the only one thinking rationally now, there must-_

"Aww, there's need to get flustered, I'm sure that Yang will happily take you out for dinner," Nora shouted as she tuned to give a sly grin before making her way to catch up to Jaune.

'_Idiots! They're useless idiots! All of them-!' _the headache intensified and as she brought a hand to rub the her temples.

"You okay?" the crimson huntress asked as she attempted to place a hand on the heiress' shoulder. She smack the hand out of the air and continued on her way. "Hey Weiss, you still have to answer my question!" Ruby jogged after the fuming heiress.

"What do you want?" the white haired girl not holding back on any of her anger.

"I just wanted to see how you're doing. If you're angry or something, you can talk to me Blake or Yang-"

"I'm fine, now stop bothering me!" Weiss stopped her brisk pace and faced the concerned Ruby Rose with scowl on her face. With nothing more to say, Weiss stomped off, leaving the crimson hunter with her thoughts. She felt a gentle hand placed on her shoulder. She tilted her head to find a somewhat concerned Pyrrha.

"Let it go, she just needs some time to think about this. I think we all need some space to think about this." She gestured to a lone birch tree. Underneath its dying canopy, sat a concentrated Ren with a slumbering Nora in his lap. He looked like he was lost in thought. Blake stood silently on the tree's highest branch, staring off into the distance. Yang leaned against the tree, staring at her feet. Jaune made his way over to talk to the pondering blonde.

"See, this is really a burden to us all, not just her," Pyrrha's voice was filled with comfort as well as a hint of worry.

"Right, I guess," Ruby spoke weakly as she stared at the brownish green blades of grass.

Pyrrha placed a gentle yet firm hand on the young huntress' shoulder as she gave one final remark before leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts. "Try to get some rest."

_'I just wish rest was the cure to everything,' _Ruby thought as she lay on the warm soft grass and stared up at the navy blue sky dotted with stars and a crescent moon.

_'If only.' _With that final thought, the crimson huntress closed her eyes and tried to follow her advice.

* * *

"I can't believe you would do such a childish thing Ytano!"

"Calm yourself down Enor," Ordan spoke slowly.

"How can I when this idiot here is toying with everyone. What kind of stupid rule is 'No Weapons'? Absolute rubbish." The old wolf Faunus gestured to the younger Guardian while throwing his hands in the air.

"But what is the point of the trial if it turns into a bloodbath?" Ani's voice was filled with concern as she brought her trembling hands up to mouth.

"The girl has a point," Ordan acknowledged the young girl's opinion with a nod.

"They're skilled warriors, they know how to take care of themselves." Enor slumped into his throne as crossed his arms in a discontent manner.

"Need I remind you that if they fought a deathmatch, we would have no successors you dense minded fool!" Ordan was teetering on the line between sarcasm and anger.

"I'm just saying-" the wolf Faunus was about to retort when he was interrupted.

"Say what? That your pride is harder to swallow than your dick?" Snickering could be heard coming from Ani and Anako was trying to stifle her laughter.

"You snobbish little brat. I'll have you know that it is your arrogance-"

"Silence!" Ordan bellowed out. "Enor, go to your room to cool down."

"How dare you-"

"Now!" the thunderous voice bellowed, tinted with anger. Enor grunted as he sluggishly got up from his throne and proceeded to his room.

"Serves you right, you old geezer!" the younger male Guardian snickered.

"You too Ytano. Get out of here." Ordan lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Wha-" The room suddenly grew cold as the young male Guardian began having trouble breathing. Fog began slowly pouring out of Ordan's throne and creeped agonizingly towards the stunned Guardian.

"Stop it!" Ani shouted as she jumped from her throne and stepped in the way of the rolling fog. It stopped for a moment and continued to its destination, swerving around the obstacle.

"Ordan! That's enough," Anako said gingerly as the fog stopped at the base of the throne.

"Go," a low rumble came from the man sitting in the center throne. Ani looked shocked for a moment but nodded and rushed over to Ytano. He was shivering violently and his breathing ragged. The young girl helped guide the fazed man up and to his room.

The meeting hall was filled with silence as the two remaining Guardians stared into the Rift of Time, wondering if there really was a thing called peace.

* * *

"Found one!" Ruby exclaimed as she raised her hand to reveal a dusty gold part previously lost amongst a pile of rubble.

"Alright, let's see," Jaune said as he approached the crimson huntress. She stuck out her hand to show a golden "L" shaped piece that had a shorter gold bar that stuck out perpendicular at the end of the longer side. Jaune studied it and quickly took it in his hand, figuring out the part's owner.

"Hey Ren! I think it's your part," he shouted as the boy dressed in green took out his part. It was the skeletal frame of a cube. The base and one side was already completed. There were small pillars of gold that stuck out at the vertices in different lengths. When the two hunters moved closer, the relic part in Jaune's hand began to vibrate. Once they were a foot apart, the newly discovered piece flew and snapped into place, completing another face of the cubes skeleton.

"Thank you, Jaune," Ren said calmly, almost on the verge of being monotone. He walked over to a bouncing Nora who was hugging him excessively.

"Poor guy, must be hard to maintain a steady relationship with Nora," Yang said as she eyed the defeated hunter as he carried his girlfriend outside on his back. He glanced at the onlookers and then to the door frame several times, hinting that he was leaving. With a slight nod from Jaune, he made his way over to the door and out into the summer morning.

"Sooo, Pyrrha, what are you going to do when this is all over?" Yang asked playfully with both of her hands behind her head.

"I don't know. I kind of like this place. It's quiet. It's peaceful. What do you think Jaune?" She wrapped her arms around his, awaiting his response.

"Whatever makes you happy," the hunter said with smile on his face. Pyrrha grinned back and rested her head on his shoulder like a soft pillow.

"Ok, lovebirds," Yang commented with her usual sly grin and turned away.

"Say hi to your girlfriend for me!" Pyrrha shouted to the retreating blonde.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Yang said over her shoulder. "Not yet, anyways," she whispered to herself as she made her way over to the scavenging heiress. She must've heard the conversation because when Yang got within arms length, she turned to face her. She looked furious to say the least.

"Hey, Weiss, what'cha doing?" the blonde asked, hoping that her answer would be different from the one she was thinking of.

"Regretting ever letting you kiss me," the heiress replied coldly, never making eye contact with the brawler. She returned to scavenging as Yang continued to stand there.

"Weiss…" the blond started, but left it hanging as the white haired girl resumed searching without making eye contact.

"Hey, give her some space," Blake said quietly from behind Yang. "She needs some time to think about this, and this," the Faunus said motioning around her with her arms, then the blonde before leaving to look in a different pile.

"If only it was that simple," Yang whispered to herself as she reluctantly turned to scavenge somewhere else.

* * *

Adam stood at the edge of a clearing, a house was centered around the dead and rotting trees that littered the area. The 'team' was a good half kilometer away. He volunteered to go scout.

The house matched the coordinates, though not the appearance, but that's what age does to anything. Even though Adam was alone, he exercised caution, for he felt as though someone was watching. The house was made of wooden planks. Some were rotten, but in general, the house was relatively well kept. '_Pristine windows? Odd.' _He saw some smoke rising from the chimney. He had a bad feeling about this, but his damn curiosity made him go in.

He knocked on the old oak door that had a new paint job done recently: no answer. '_What the hell did you expect?' _

"Certainly not that," a voice spoke from behind him. He instinctively reached for Wilt and Blush. After realizing that his blade wasn't there, and that annoying voice, he spoke without turning around.

"What are you doing here Cinder?"

"You have to be more civilized than that if you want people to actually like you," she said, trying to sound kind and playful, but the Faunus wasn't fooled.

"Gimme a break." He rolled his eyes and kicked the door open. The living room of the cabin was fairly new. There was a fire that was lit recently. Adam could smell some sort of stew that was being heated up.

"I wonder if they are as kind as you," Cinder said coyly as she made her way over to the boiling broth. Adam eyed the room to find it well maintained.

"Chicken, want some?" the women dressed in red asked as she uncovered the lid to the stew. Adam rolled his eyes as he made his way to the other end of the living room when he heard muffled noises coming from the basement.

"Something wrong?" Cinder made her way over to the already on edge Faunus.

"We're not alone," he spoke quietly, devoid of any emotions.

"Well then, let's give the owner a warm greeting, shall we?" the women said as she moved in front of Adam and opened the basement door. The muffled noises grew louder as they descended the staircase.

The basement walls were lined with aged wooden planks. It was dim and damp, though it never fazed Adam. He was raised without the comfort of a shelter, so dim damp caves were his friend. Cinder was equally unfazed. As the two continued to descend down the staircase, a faint light appeared, casting a barely visible shadow on the unwelcome guests.

The air that was once warm and toasty is now as chilly as early morning. The muffled noises had transformed into faint screams and the sounds of a machine.

Adam took point with Cinder not lingering behind. As they inched closer, liquids could be felt underneath their shoes. Unnerved, they continue to trek into the cabin's basement. The dim light that was seen at the stairs base had turned brighter with each step closer.

Once they reached the doorway, the sight was unnerving to say the least. There was a person with a motorized blade slicing an Ursa cub into cube sized pieces on an old wooden table. Carcases of rotting Grimm were hung from the ceiling as their stench filled the room.

"Well, that's not what I expected when I walked into this nice cozy cabin," Cinder said to the man. He whipped his around with a shocked expression on his bloody face.

"Who are you?" the man asked, never putting down the mechanized blade. He was in his late sixties with a bald head and wrinkles all across his pale face. There was a very thin beard growing, but the hair was gray and wispy. His voice matched his age; old and fragile.

"Now, that's not how you treat your house guests," Cinder continued to speak coyly as Adam stared at the confused old timer.

"Ge-get out!" he said as he began swing his vibrating blade around.

"I wish we didn't have to do this. Adam, would you be so kind?" Cinder asked politely as she twirled her hand in circles as she rubbed her forehead. The Faunus rolled his eyes as he made his way over the geezer.

"St-stay back! I'm warning you!" the old man said as he continued to swing his weapon. Adam sighed as he sweeped the man off his feet. He landed with a thud in the old floor that was clearly stained with the blood from something.

The Faunus picked up the blade and studied it. It was a poorly constructed dagger from scavenged metals most likely. It was rusted in some places with dents here and there. The hilt of the blade contained a motor that was connected to the cutting edge of the blade. It was powered by some sort of liquid that was golden brown. With a final glance, he returned his attention to the unarmed man cowering on the floor.

"Please, don't kill me," he said as he brought up his shaking arms in an attempt to block any attacks directed at his face. Cinder laughed as she made her way over the man and knelt down beside him.

"I'm sure we can... talk about this, right?" She motioned towards Adam as he tilted his head and turned away to stare at the doorway.

Cinder smiled as she stuck out her hand to help the old man up off the bloody floor.

* * *

Yang lingered behind as the other seven, well six plus Weiss, members of her group continued on with laughter and smiles. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts.

'_Was it wrong of me to kiss Weiss? Should I go apologize to her or something? Maybe, or-' _A loud snapping of trees brought Yang back to reality. She noticed some rose petals rising above the canopy of the leafless trees. None of the group was around her, which indicated to the blonde that something big happened.

She ran forward, never noticing a small well kept cabin off to her right. She dashed towards the smoke another kilometer away to find a sight that she wasn't prepared for. There was a thirty foot long King Taijitu. Everyone was already engaged in combat, with what little aura they had. Blake was fighting with a broken branch and Pyrrha was using a fire iron as a makeshift spear. Ruby was practically flying, utilizing her weakened semblance.

From the counter of her eye, Yang noticed a white figure soar out of one of the trees. Her hair flailed against the sudden rush of the wind as she rapidly advanced towards the target. Her aquamarine eyes glowed with determination as she struggled to maintain her semblance at the rate she was using it at. '_Stay strong Weiss.' _Yang clutched her hands together over her heart.

The white haired girl's propulsion glyph was a pearl white colour when it began to grow fainter as the heiress' face showed the struggle she was going through. '_Curse these restrictions to our aura. How do they expect us to defend ourselves?' _Weiss was about to lose herself to her thoughts when she saw a black object grow in her field of vision. The heiress shook her head as she prepared an incendiary glyph when she felt air below her feet. She swore silently at her poor aura management as she fell to the ground.

Her years of training and practice helped her mitigate the pain of impact, but pain was still pain. She somersaulted away from the Grimm to assess the damage; a bruised right knee and a sprained left ankle. Weiss took a quick glance at the others to see how they were faring. Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha and Nora are currently engaged with a horde of Boarbatusks. Blake and Ren were locked in combat with an adult Ursa. All seven of them seemed to be struggling with the Aura restrictions.

Weiss didn't have much time to think about a strategy, for the King Taijitu was swiftly advancing towards the stunned huntress. She struggled to get up due to her sprained ankle. She winced at the sudden surge of pain. '_Without my Aura, I can't dull the pain. I'll be damned if I die like this.' _She continued her futile attempt to recover as she scummbed to her injuries and fell to the hard dirt ground. The serpent was about to pounce when a streak of yellow flashed before Weiss' vision. The King Taijitu was temporarily out of commision when the figure turned to the stunned heiress.

"Sorry for the hold up, Snow Angel."

"Don't call me that!" Weiss scowled as she was hauled up to her feet.

"I'm glad you're okay," Yang whispered gently as she loosely squeezed the heiress' shoulder.

"Yeah, well, we have more important things to do, like…" The heiress turned away, trying to restrain a blush. She never felt this way before. A feeling of acceptance not from her skill, but from herself. The only other person that made her feel this way, was…

"Weiss!"

The white haired girl was snapped out of her thoughts as she brought her attention back to the King Taijitu. It was stirring from its unexpected slumber.

"Can you still fight?" Yang's voice was both soothing yet forceful. It made Weiss crack a slight grin.

"What does it look like?" She released her clasp on the blonde's forearm and stood with her back straight and feet shoulder width apart. The pain was still present, but she ignored it. She lowered her stance; Yang followed suit.

"Alright, on my ma-" Weiss began. However, when the words left her lips, Yang made a mad dash towards the conscious King Taijitu.

"Idiot," she muttered to herself as she ran towards the serpent. Her pace was uneven, courtesy of the sprained ankle. By the time she reached the Grimm, it was under a barrage of fists from the brawler. Weiss understood yet despised the fact that she was useless as an offensive huntress. She began utilizing her remaining Aura to call forth propulsion glyphs to aid Yang in her assault.

"Alright right Weissy, that's my girlfriend!" the blonde shouted as she continued to deal blows to the head of the King Taijitu.

"I'm not your girlfriend and we're not dating!" Weiss yelled at the smirking brute. The heiress also accomplished something else other than get her stubborn point across. She had drawn the attention of the tail of the serpent. It's white coloured scales and its red soulless eyes glared at the unaware huntress as it began to slither its way closer to the huntress.

"Weiss! Look out!" Ruby exclaimed as she was swarmed by five more Boarbatusks. The heiress was unaware of what the crimson huntress called for until it dawned upon her. She could now no longer see her shadow. Instead, she saw the outline of a snake. The heiress spun her head around and was greeted by the deafening hiss of the King Taijitu.

"Weiss, get outta there!" Yang shouted as she was interrupted by a strike from the serpent. The white haired girl tried to run away but stumbled and fell. She cursed silently that she had forgotten about her injury. She attempted to summon a propulsion glyph but she was out of energy from the aid she gave to Yang. The King Taijitu hissed once more and lunged towards the collapsed huntress. She closed her eyes and braced for the inevitable.

"Hey, what are you…so scared about...Snow Angel?" A few seconds had gone by before the voice spoke. It was calm and gentle, yet struggled to maintain it. She opened her eyes to find a hazy yellow figure standing before her.

"Ya-Yang?" Weiss struggled to say.

"Hey there beautiful," the blonde said, struggling just as hard as the heiress.

"What are you...doing? Get out...get out, get out!" Weiss struggled to say, but after realizing the gravity of the situation, begged the blonde to leave.

"Hey Weiss. I love you." With that said, the blonde returned her attention to the King Taijitu. She used her last remaining reserves of Aura to snap the two fangs off the snake and rammed one into its right eye. The serpent gave an ear shattering screech as the other head covered in white scales caught the brawler off guard and clamped her tightly in between its jaws. It threw Yang into the air and swallowed her whole.

"No...no...no...no no no no no," Weiss muttered to herself as she started to break down into tears, tightly clenching the fabric of her clothing over her heart. Tears rolled down her face as she laid on the ground: defeated. The King Taijitu slithered its way over to the sobbing huntress and prepared to strike with its mouth open. '_Make it quick,' _As she was about to give up on hope, she heard a voice that lit the dying embers ablaze in her heart. She felt intense heat radiating off a figure in front of her.

"Don't cry Weissy...you'll never be as beautiful when you're sad."

* * *

"Wait, so you're telling me, that this is the City of Vale?"

"Yes," the old man said finally, after the question sunk in.

"What game are you trying to play you old geezer?"

"Calm down Adam," Cinder gestured for her company to restrain his disbelief. She turned to the man as the Faunus slumped deeper into the worn leather sofa. "Explain."

The old man inhaled deeply as he began. "About a year ago, everything worked the way it was supposed to; people went to work and the children, hunters and huntress' went to school, but then everything changed. I don't know what exactly happened, but-"

"What the hell do you think we are, stupid?" Adam shouted as he drew the blade confiscated from the man and aimed it at his throat. The old timer immediately tensed up, sweat could be seen rolling down his forehead as his eyes darted across the room.

"Adam, put the blade down," Cinder instructed as she remained seated. The Faunus grunted as he sat back down, the blade still in his hand. "Carry on," the woman said with a smile as the man shifted uncomfortably in his chair as she continued with a hint of worry on his words.

"I-I-I'm not sure what really happened, but whole bunch of Atlesian Knights just rolled in and shot people on the spot. At least, that's what I heard." The man was still trying to convince himself about the whole matter.

"I'll assume you ran into the woods, cowering for your life, correct?" Cinder asked bluntly. The man hesitantly nodded his head, not making eye contact with his two unexpected house guests.

"Then why were you cutting Grimm up into tiny pieces?" Adam asked, still refusing to put down the blade.

"I, uhh, eat them…" the man whispered regretfully. After a moment, he looked up, expecting a sign of disgust to be present on the faces of the two strangers. To his surprise, the both looked bored to say the least.

"Now that wasn't so hard, right?" Cinder said childishly as she tilted her head and smiled.

"Right…" the man mumbled.

"Cinder, why don't you go ahead of me, I've got some things I want to ask him personally," Adam said mischievously, twirling the blade around in his hand.

"Alright, but don't kill him...yet," the woman in red said mysteriously as she got up and left the house. There was a moment of silence between the two men before Adam spoke in a curious tone.

"What do you know about this?" He took out the black stone tablet with white etching on its surface and the map. The man took the tablet first and studied it immensely before switching his attention to the map.

"Well, the coordinates are the ones my house is built on, but I don't know anything about a box of this stuff," the man said satisfied with what he had to say.

"Then what about the tablet," Adam gestured to the tablet that laid on the aged wooden coffee table.

"From what I can tell, it's written in a language that I believe is native to Mistral. The things I could only decipher was 'They are us and we are them.' The rest is gibberish to me," the old man said as he crossed his arms and nodded his head.

"Thanks." Adam collected his things and made his way towards the door, ending his fruitless treasure hunt. "Oh, and this is yours." He threw the blade onto the coach before heading out towards his camp.

"Anything good?"

"You have got to stop stalking me Cinder." Adam seemed unfazed as he continued onward.

"Well, a woman only stalks people she likes." She grinned slyly as she wrapped her arms around his and rested her head on his shoulder.

'_What did I do to deserve this?' _the Faunus thought was he walked towards their camp in the dimness of the twilight.

* * *

"Hey, Weiss, can I talk to you?" Yang asked cautiously as she slowly inched her way towards the heiress. The group had found a nice place to stay with some dry grass that was still warm with the sun's heat. Blake had volunteered to keep watch overnight and let everyone else get some much needed rest. Ruby and team JNPR were around a campfire Ren managed to start. They were talking about today's event's, but most likely gossiping about the kiss from yesterday. Ignoring their comments, Yang returned her attention to the heiress.

No response. Yang asked one more time to no avail. She was about to leave when she heard a small cry leave the heiress' lips. Yang knelt down beside Weiss to find her usual scowl had turned into a slight frown with dried tears that stained her cheeks. Her eyes were tinted with a light red to signify that she was in fact crying. Yang was about to make a big deal about it, but Weiss stopped her.

"Please, don't," she whispered silently as the blonde nodded and sat down beside her. They sat without making any noise for a minute, before Weiss scooted over a bit and laid her head on Yang's shoulder. The blonde shifted over so the heiress' head was in between the nook of her neck and shoulder. She brought an arm up to wrap around Weiss' shoulder. The night breeze gently blew across the meadow and lifted their hair so it waved in unison. They sat in this embrace for a few minutes before the white haired girl broke the silence.

"Why did you do that back there?" Her voice wavered with each word whispered.

"Because you were in danger," the blonde whispered back. There was a moment of silence between them. Weiss once again was the first to break the silence.

"You needn't worry about me Yang," the heiress whispered as she stared off into the distance.

"Why not Snow Angel?" Yang asked in the same hush whisper the girl in her arms used.

"Because I don't want to lose you!" She shouted in a louder whisper as she buried her head into Yang's chest, sobbing quietly as the blonde stroked her head, softly combing her soft silky hair.

"You're not going to lose me Snow Angel," Yang said tenderly as she continued the comb heiress' hair.

"How can you prove it?" Weiss said as she looked up to find Yang's eyes with hers.

The blonde smiled and quietly replied, "You don't need proof to know that I love you, and as long as I love you, I'll never stop fighting for you." Weiss stared into those violet orbs that were filled with kindness and warmth. Weiss began crying again as she buried her head back into Yang's chest. The air grew colder, but the blonde's body heat allowed them to stay warm away from the fire.

"You don't even know why I'm crying," the heiress said bluntly as she stared off into the distance. She stopped crying, but tears still continued to roll down her cheeks.

"And I don't need to know why. All you need to know is that I'll be here for you," Yang said as she looked down to see a staring Weiss. Her eyes were tinted red, but those bright blue eyes still shimmered in the moonlight. The heiress smiled and continued to stare off into the distance. After a while, Yang noticed a sleeping beauty in her arms. A smile on her sleeping face made Yang blush a bit as she planted a kiss on her head and continued to stare off into the starry night.

* * *

"Was it correct for Ani to give one of her successors all her Aura back temporarily?"

"I'm not going to undermine this trial with an unnecessary death," the young female Guardian said in a confident tone.

"Then if that is the case, why not restore all the Aura to all the successors?"

"Do you have short-term memory, Enor?" Ordan asked questioningly.

"I only find it fair that we-" the wolf Faunus began but was silenced by a glare from the elder Guardian.

"How are they doing in terms of completing the trial?" Ordan ask.

"The majority of them are at the halfway mark. A few only need one more piece," Ani spoke in a monotone voice.

"Without Ytano around, you really are a Guardian," Enor attempted to compliment the young girl but was brushed off. "Little brat," he muttered under his breath.

"Where is Ytano?" Anako ask curiously.

"In his room," Ani replied automatically. "Excuse me." The young Guardian got up and left the meeting hall.

"She really does have a _thing_ for Ytano," Anako pointing out the obvious where she was sure the she wasn't in earshot.

"Love makes you stronger, you of all people should know that Anako." Ordan turned to look at the flushed Guardian. She excused herself from the meeting and left with haste. Enor not wanting to be left with the elder Guardian alone, left promptly after. He sighed as he opened the Rift in Time and stared into it.

'_Love does make you stronger,'_ Ordan thought as he saw a man in a black coat carry a women in red in a bridal carry. A girl with short orange hair resting in the lap of a teen dressed in green. A woman in green laying on top of a man in silver. A girl with a long red ponytail clinging onto a man with short blonde hair resting against a fallen log. A girl with long white hair buried her face into the nook between the shoulder and neck of a woman with a wild mane of golden hair. He smiled and closed the Rift of Time and stood from his throne.

'_Love is a cause worth dying for.' _Ordan grinned as he left the room, thinking one final thought before closing the marble door.

* * *

**More on the way. Later!**


	6. Home

"Hey Yang, can I talk to you?"

"Sure, what is it Weiss?"

The two huntresses slowed down their pace so they would be at the rear of the group.

"What are you doing this for?" the heiress spoke softly.

"What do you mean?"

Weiss shifted from foot to foot with a nervous bounce before continuing with her whisper. "Why do you want to become a Guardian?"

Yang thought about it hard before giving her answer." I would be lying if I said I was doing it for the actual title. I guess the reason for everyone is to find answers."

Weiss thought about her response, only to turn and face the blonde huntress. She looked into her violet eyes and studied them closely. She loved the way it contrasted her vibrant yellow hair. After a few moments, Yang smiled and kissed Weiss on the forehead.

"It doesn't matter why I do it, because I'm doing it for you," her voice no more than a gentle whisper.

The heiress smiled a genuine smile and spoke softly, "Okay."

"Then there's nothing to fear because Yang is here!" she exclaimed as she ran forward with her first in the air.

_'You always know how to ruin the moment,'_ Weiss thought as she jogged to catch up.

They had only moved half a kilometer when a severe storm hit. There was no visible shelter as far as the eye could see. The group of eight trudged on through the heavy rainfall as lightning whipped across the sky against its dark gray canvas. Thunder filled their eardrums as well as a few sneezes here and there.

"I thought that with such great weather, it would've been wise to move."

"No one is blaming you Pyrrha, so stop moping," Weiss said plainly.

"You don't need to be so rude Weiss." Jaune brought his girlfriend closer to him, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Look, all I'm saying is that she didn't know the weather would take a drastic turn for the worse. Furthermore, since no one is blaming her for this, then she shouldn't be disappointed with herself." Weiss only made eye contact with Pyrrha for a short duration of the explanation.

"Yea, well, maybe you shou-"

"Stop it, Jaune."

"But Pyrrha-"

"There's no point in arguing right now. Let's just get to the nearest shelter so we can wait out the storm." Pyrrha reluctantly removed his hand from her shoulder and briskly made her way over to the front of the group.

"Pyrrha..."

"Hey, let it go."

"Ruby?"

"I know I may not seem like the whole 'advice giving' type, but just hear me out."

Jaune inhaled sharply and stopped, causing the red haired huntress to end her stride as well.

"I'm pretty sure that you've heard this already, but here it is again. This is a lot to take in; the Guardians and the 'trials'. So I get it if you're starting to feel like everybody is against you, but we're all just stressed. Try not to take it too personally."

Jaune stared into Ruby's silver eyes. It matched the gray background and the occasional lightning strike only made them shine. Her soaking wet hair clung to the side of her face, much like her clothing did to her body.

"C'mon, let's go." Ruby dashed off to rejoin with others, leaving a pondering Jaune alone in the heavy rainfall.

_'If Yang is fighting for Weiss, then what am I fighting for?' _He stared off into the direction to find the silhouette of a girl with a long high ponytail.

_'Of course you idiot! How could you forget about her so easily?' _Jaune shook his head and ran towards his friends and lover with a look of determination on his wet face.

* * *

"It has been raining for the past three days!"

"You think we didn't know that Ruby?" Yang asked with her usual playful voice.

"What do you think is up with the weather system?"

"Well, according to the weather logs that I've read, Vale never has had a storm as severe as this. However, since we have no idea where we are, we can only assume that it is regular for a storm of this magnitude to strike. I predict that there must be a sudden cold front rolling in to meet the-"

"Uhh, Weiss. Not to be rude, but if your mission was to bore us to sleep, mission accomplished." Yang gestured to a corner of the farm they were fortunate to find. There lay a dormant Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc and Nora Valkyrie all on top of a helpless Lie Ren.

"Children," the heiress said distastefully as she rolled her eyes.

"Aww, don't be so sad Weissy." Yang smiled as she patted the agitated huntress on her damp head.

"Stop that!"

"..."

"..." The heiress sighed as she was being continually petted. "Where's Pyrrha?"

"Keeping guard."

"Blake?"

"Scouting."

"In weather like this? I know she doesn't like to be social, but she should at least stay until she can get some help from one of us."

"Well, I trust Blake and I'm sure she needs some time to think about this."

"Since when did you start handing out advice Miss Long?"

"Since I met you," she planted a quick kiss before returning to comb the heiress' limp hair.

* * *

Blake sat unmoving in a dead tree several meters away from the farm. The rain continually pelted her as she was lost in thought. '_Why must they be so secretive about their guidelines? Why can't they just look us in the eye and tell us the truth?' _Blake's ears began twitching back and forth underneath her bow. '_Great, now I'm antisocial and a hypocrite.' _The Faunus looked up into the darkening sky and closed her eyes. The cold rain that impacted her face was refreshing to say the least, accompanied by the sound of thunder and the crackle of lightning. She enjoyed the moment before losing herself to her speculations.

'_Maybe the only thing that I can do is to finish this damn game they forced us to play.' _She took out the relic assigned to Ruby and herself. The sphere was nearly reassembled, it just needed its top third and the gap in the center. She clenched it tighter as the rain seeped into the spaces between the artifact.

"Hey."

Blake's instinct was to reach for Gambol Shroud but instead of its smooth hilt, it was splintered wood. She was about to jump out of the tree to confront her target when it spoke again.

"It's just me."

"...Pyrrha?"

"Hello…" she sounded uneasy about something.

"I presume you want to talk." Blake settled back down onto the branch and gazed out into the cloudy distance.

"Yes...that would be nice…" Pyrrha scaled the tree and found herself a branch just below the Faunus'. The two stared off into the horizon draped in a foggy veil.

"I never took you for the silent type."

"What do you mean Blake?"

"We've been sitting here for ten minutes and you still have yet to tell me what you wanted to ask me."

"I've just been thinking…"

"Haven't we all?" the Faunus mumbled under her breath as thunder drowned out her murmur.

"Why do you partake in this Blake?" the girl turned to look at the wet huntress digesting her question.

"Well, think of it this way. If you finish the trial, then you might get some answers."

"Thought it wasn't so straightforward." Pyrrha eyed the perched Faunus questioningly.

"Hey, you want my advice or not?" Blake shouted defensively over the rumble of thunder.

"I suppose." Pyrrha thought as she gazed into the storm clouds above. Rain poured relentlessly upon the earth as she asked her next question. "What are _you_ fighting for?"

There was a flash of lightning that illuminated the Faunus. She was frozen like a statue. Her face was emotionless and pale. Her amber eyes were locked on the cumulus clouds on top of them. Her clothing saturated with water, clung to her tone body. Pyrrha could've admired the mysterious huntress for much longer when the light dispersed and the rumbling from above snapped Blake out of her trance.

"Whatever my heart so desires."

"... Oh... " Pyrrha whispered as the rain drowned her out.

"Is that all you want?" Blake said as another lightning strike appeared in the sky.

Pyrrha thought deeply before asking the question that kept her up at night. "Do you know anything about the etchings seen at the edge of that circle in the beginning?"

There was silence from the Faunus. Eventually, Blake answered over the torrent of rain, "No."

"I see. Well, if you don't mind me asking, why do you dislike the company of others?"

The lightning and thunder suddenly stopped and the rain slowly began to fade away. The overcast diminished, revealing a vibrant orange sky coloured with streaks of violet. The sun was halfway down the horizon when Blake gave her answer.

"You probably wouldn't understand." The Faunus turned and gave Pyrrha a quick glance before hopping down onto the damp mud underneath the grass. She began walking before shouting something from over her shoulder.

"You wouldn't want to keep your boyfriend waiting now, would you?"

Pyrrha was taken aback to find that Blake actually had some humor within her. She smiled as she gave one last glance to the brilliant sunset before descending the tree and returning to the barn.

* * *

"Why is there is always a disagreement between you two?" the voice boomed.

"It's because he is a snobbish little punk!"

"Because a certain old fossil here doesn't know when to shut up!"

"Enough! Ytano! Enor! Out! Now!" Ordan shouted in a deafening roar.

Without a moment's hesitation, the two male Guardians left the room and proceeded furiously to their rooms. He noticed the other two were eyeing their partners from underneath their white hoods.

"Go."

The remaining two scrambled out of the room, not making a sound. Ani made her way down to Ytano's room. She heard nothing when she reached the white marble door. Before she could knock, a voice spoke from within.

"Come in Ani."

The young Guardian opened the surprisingly light door and closed it behind her. She saw Ytano on his bed without his cloak or shirt. He was toned and muscular with a few lacerations across his chest. He had mildly long brown hair that stuck up naturally. His tan skin matched his pale green eyes. His toned face had a deep scar running from the bridge of his nose to the lower part of his left cheekbone. He motioned for her to come sit with him. Ani slowly made her way over to him.

"You don't need to wear that when you're here." Once she was in arms reach, he removed her hood to reveal a blushing girl. Her pale blonde hair was done up in a loose bun. Some hair that wasn't done up properly fell to the sides of her face. Ytano smiled and brushed them behind her human ears. Her little sheep ears barely protruded out from under her hair. She opened her pale blue eyes and met his gaze, only making her blush harder. She was barely shorter than him even as he sat at the edge of the bed.

"What are you so nervous about?"

"Me? Nervous? Please, I'm like… nineteen?"

"You look ten to me."

The silence that filled the room was broken by another question.

"So what are you really nervous about?"

"Umm...you…" she whispered, never taking her eyes off his.

"Well, care to join me on the bed?" He patted on an empty spot beside him.

"Whaa! I mean I'm only like ten even though I've been a Guardian for nine years so I'm technically nineteen so does that count and if it doesn't then I'm not so sure it's even legal so does legality even matter I mean we are dead and there-" Ani sputtered waving her hands in front of her while looking everywhere but at Ytano's face.

His chuckling interrupted her rambling. "I don't mean that. I mean just take a seat." He once again gestured to the space beside him on his bed.

She audibly gulped as she slowly sat down, side-by-side with Ytano as she turned to face him. Her face that was crimson glowed brighter; her eyes clamped shut. He smiled as he brought his hand up and gently rubbed the soft skin with the back of his fingers. The moment his fingers touched her face, she gasped and opened her eyes. Her ogling at his body, his smooth tan skin against hers, his pale green eyes that shone like stars. She couldn't take it. She leaned in and tilted her head back. She closed her eyes and-

"Umm, Ani?"

"Uhh, yes Ytano?" she whispered.

"You know you're kissing my chest right?"

She opened her eyes to find his looking down upon hers. She quickly pulled back and begged profusely for him to forgive her.

"It's alright. Maybe next time, if you really want one, just ask me."

Her face flushed as she nodded slightly and whimpered, "Okay."

He got up and picked up his white cloak and donned it upon himself. "C'mon, let's go."

"Okay."

Ani got up and followed Ytano out of his room and to the meeting hall. '_I wonder if one of the new Guardians will be like me.' _

* * *

"Hey Ren! Come take a look at this!"

"Coming Nora!"

The boy dressed in green made his way over to his girlfriend while everyone else continued to search.

"I can't wait until we get out of here."

"Come on Weiss, this the fourth farm we've found. I would have thought you would've gotten used to it."

"Just because I've been in them, doesn't mean I enjoyed it Yang!"

Yang just smiled and shrugged before returning to search for a relic piece. Weiss' progress of examining piles of trash was greatly hindered by her lack of success and the same boring view. In addition to the musty smell and the occasional cockroach, she was about lose her mind. When all hope for this search was about to disappear, she caught a glimpse of a dull silver part with gold markings along its surface. It looked like part of a sphere with a cylindrical part jutting out from its center. She immediately knew who this part's owner was.

"Ruby! I found your piece!" The heiress exclaimed in her nonchalant voice.

"Yeah! Thanks Weiss! You're the best!" The crimson huntress then proceeded to hug the life out of her.

"Ruby...let go of...me…"

"Sorry!" Ruby released the white haired huntress as she greedily began inhaling, desperate for the oxygen she was deprived of. She glared at her as she did her best puppy dog impression for forgiveness. She sighed as she got up and dusted herself off.

"So, where is your relic?"

"Right here." Blake walked up to them and took out their artifact. The missing part was in the exact same shape as the part in Weiss' hand.

Before even stepping any closer than four feet, the piece flew out of the heiress' hand and snapped into place. The red haired girl jumped excitedly for they had just found the last piece to the relic.

"All right! We- Uh, Yang, why you looking at me like that?"

The blonde that was still dumbfounded pulled her partially assembled mirror for Ruby to see herself in. She was slowly growing transparent.

"Wah! What's going on? Blake?"

The Faunus was also undergoing the same treatment as the crimson huntress, although she was rapidly fading away.

"We're about to find out," she said calmly before vanishing. The relic that was in her hand fell through the air and impacted the cold cellar floor. It shattered like glass as it's remnants eroded into a fine gold dust that was wisped away.

"Weiss! Save me!" The crimson girl shouted her plea and tightly hugged the heiress. Weiss only smiled and patted her paling figure's back.

"Stay strong Ruby."

The moment the words hit her, she had disappeared and the warmth that encompassed her neck was gone as well. She turned her head to find Yang on the verge of tears. Weiss walked over to the shuttering blonde and kissed her on the cheek. She meet the white haired girl's gaze as tears slowly began to trickle down her face.

"Hey, you still have me, right?" Weiss said halfheartedly as she wiped the tears off her eyes. She grasped her hand and grinned.

"Ok."

"We'd better go see what the others are up to," Weiss whispered.

"Yeah."

Once the two got to the place where they last saw team JNPR, they found nothing. No Nora annoying Ren with petty smalltalk. No Pyrrha to show Jaune her accentuated love. Just barrels and some torn flour bags.

"Looks like we're the last to find it," Weiss said plainly. Yang turned to face her and planted a quick kiss on her lips before turning towards the exit. On her way out, she shouted her remarks over her shoulder before proceeding through the door.

"At least we'll do it together."

* * *

"Ytano, can I talk to you?"

"Sure Ani. But if it's about the ki-"

"No! Not that, something else." Ani stared at her feet, never making eye contact with him.

"Alright, let's go to my room."

On the way from the main lobby to Ytano's room was silent. Once they reached his place, Ani walked in before he could gesture her. She slumped down on his bed. Her hood fell off her head and her arms and legs were bent so that her look was innocent. Ytano found that somewhat seductive.

"Ok, so what do you want to talk about?" He leaned against the shut door with his arms crossed and hood down.

"Do you mind sitting next to me?"

"If you promise not to pull any moves, yes." Ytano made his way over to his bed and sat at the edge. Ani sat up so they could see eye to eye. She looked nervous and agitated. "Something wrong Ani?"

"Are you mad at me?" she asked with a genuine look of worry.

"Why would I be?" Ytano smiled as he patted her head, careful not to touch her sensitive little sheep ears.

"Because I'm the one who...caused this to happen...I'm the one who caused...Ordan to replace the council so early...because…I'm weak and...I can't do my job and..." Ani couldn't contain her tears any longer as they began to flow like rivers and land onto Ytano's bed sheets. She sobbed heavily as she struggled to continue her explanation.

"Ani, it's ok. It's not your fault and I'm not mad at you." He pulled in the girl for a gentle embrace. She buried her head into his chest as she continued to sob. "It's the old wolf Enor's fault. His incompetence is the reason the rest of us have to struggle with the extra workload. Guardians are replaced every century, but if a Guardian becomes irrational and unreliable, then their successor will be dubbed early, just like you and me." He combed her silky hair that was let down. Ani pulled out of the embrace, her eyes tinted a light red and her nose a faint crimson.

"So you're not mad?" she sniffled as she stared intently into his eyes.

"No Ani, I'm not mad." He smiled and pulled her back into the gentle embrace. They sat silently while still each others arms.

"Hey Ytano?"

Yes Ani?"

"Who are your successors?"

"I think they just arrived. You wanna come with me to greet them?"

"Yea, okay."

They got up and silently left Ytano's room, donning their hoods.

"I think two of your successors arrived too."

"Oh, great!" Ani said cheerfully. They continued the small talk until they reached the lobby. There were six of them: one was dressed in red, the other's hair was red. One was dressed in green with a short orange haired girl riding on his shoulders. Another as dressed in black with a bow tied into her hair and a boy with short blonde hair who looked nervous. Ytano was the first to speak.

"Hello successors, and welcome to the Marble Sanctuary."

* * *

"Weiss, let's take a break."

"We can't right now. We shouldn't keep the others waiting." The heiress continued to trudge forward.

"But we've been walking for hours, and-" the blonde's whining was driving the white haired girl insane.

"Look, Yang. If you stop complaining, I'll sing for you."

"Alright! Let's go!" That certainly worked, because the moment she finished the sentence, she picked up Weiss in a bridal carry and ran forward. The heiress' first reaction would've been to flinch, but she let it slide. She was tired too and if a simple chorus was enough to motivate Yang this much, then she wondered what would a kiss do. She shook her head and focused on the mission at hand: to finish this damn relic and rejoin the group.

There was a burnt down building that Weiss noticed they had past and told Yang to backtrack to its location. On closer inspection when the arrived, it resembled a small house. The wooden staircase that led to the front door was gone and so was the door. The entire left wall was gone and a portion of the front as well. The remaining brick walls were covered in soot. Shattered windows and the occasional skitter of mice deterred Weiss from entering, but Yang more or less pushed the heiress into the house.

The furniture was shattered and torn. Rubble and trash littered the floor. The stench of rotten wood fill the room as Weiss was fighting the urge to flee.

"Hey, I said we'd do this together, and I mean it." Yang placed a hand on the heiress' shoulder with a halfhearted smile.

"Ri-right." Weiss struggled to formulate words after that.

"Then let's go."

After an hour of rummaging, they had found nothing. Weiss was searching the attic while Yang looked in the basement. '_The view is nice.' _She looked out the window to find a clear blue sky with a few small clouds lingering around. The sun was about to set when she returned to her searching. Some more junk, a broken teddy bear and ...a shattered photo frame…

Weiss studied it closely. There two people in the photo. One was about ten and the other six. They were both female and they seemed happy. One had jet black hair that ended at the shoulders and the other had pale blonde hair that was done up in a loose bun. The girl with black hair had two small tips pointing out of her head. The blonde had small nubs popping out of her head. This was taken ten years ago in what Weiss can only assume was the living room. The girl with the black looked familiar. It sort of looked li-

"Hey Weiss! I found it!"

The heiress could barely make out the words before she looked down at her hands and saw them slowly fading away. She quickly removed the photo from it's damaged frame and pocketed it. She looked outside to find the sunset the most beautiful it's ever been. Streaks of aquamarine, magenta and pink faded into a bright orange that surrounded the retreating sun. She smiled as the darkness in the corners of her eyes blinded her vision and the world around her.

* * *

"...Wes...iess...Weiss!" a childish voice shouted.

"Uhh, where...am I?"

"Hey, take it easy!" someone said in a soothing tone.

The heiress' eyelids fluttered open as she surveyed the scene around them. Everything was snow white, except for the faces peering down on her.

"Why are you...staring at me...like that?"

"Because it took you an hour to wake up," a mysterious voice said.

She sat up with the help of Yang and took a good look at the cloaked stranger. They were taller than Ren. The hood that covered his eyes didn't cover his tan skin and toned jawline. He continued walking and stopped two meters in front of Weiss before speaking.

"Are you enjoying the floor enough not to get up?"

"No, it's fine." Weiss struggled to get up as Yang gripped her forearm to help her up.

"Good. As a Guardian of Remnant, I welcome you to the Marble Sanctuary." He gestured to everything around him.

"Am I your successor?" Weiss asked as she stared into his eyes that were currently being covered by his hood.

"You are one of my successors," a voice piped up from behind him. It was another Guardian about half his height. She sounded far too young to be a Guardian.

"And who are you?" Weiss asked as she looked closely at the young female Guardian.

"Your predecessor," she said plainly.

"Then who are your-"

"Hey Weiss!" a voice chirped from a massive marble arc.

"Jaune?"

"Hello," another voice chimed in from beside Jaune.

"Pyrrha?"

"And Ren and Nora!" the bubbly girl jumped out of the shadow on top of her helpless boyfriend.

"So team JNPR is your successors and team RWBY is your successors?" she asked, pointing to the tall Guardian and then to the shorter one.

"Yes," the young girl replied.

"Say, where is Blake?" the heiress requested to know.

"In her room," Ruby answered.

"Speaking of rooms, allow me to show you around the place. Ani, would please be so kind to wake Blake up."

"Okay," she said as she left them.

He motioned for the group of seven to follow him up a spiral staircase and to the second floor. It was wide and expansive with four separate rooms. In the center of the room grew a massive oak tree that Weiss predicted to be hundreds of years old. Weiss noticed Blake and Ani rejoin the group. Before she could admire the beauty of the tree's girth, the male Guardian spoke.

"Your rooms will be downstairs. Each one of you is given a room for you stay in but you are welcome to share with others if you so choose. On the second floor, you will find four different spaces centered around the Elder Tree which you are free to use during your stay. To the tree's north is the Grand Library filled with all copies of literature ever written." Blake's eyes and ears began to twitch the moment he mentioned all literary works to be present in one spot. Weiss herself was quite intrigued and drooling a bit to read some masterpieces she could never quite get her hands on. She was snapped out of her thought when he continued.

"To the tree's east is the Flower Bed of Recollection, where you can relive memories. To the oaks south is the Bladeworks, where you are free to create or customize any weapon of your choice." Ruby immediately turned her head towards the room mentioned and was struggling to get free from Yang's grasp and explore her dream place. Weiss' attention returned to the Guardian's as he progressed with his tour.

"To the tree's west is the Arena, where you can challenge other successors to a duel. Your weapons are in your rooms as well as a change of clothes. If you have any questions, please speak now."

"When can we go?" Ruby was practical running in the same spot being restrained by Yang. Pyrrha was prohibiting Jaune's advance towards the Bladeworks as well. Blake might have seemed calm, but her stance showed she wanted to be the first one to the Grand Library.

"Before you go, I must tell you. You aren't the only ones staying in the Marble Sanctuary," the man said.

"Who are we sharing it with?" Blake asked questioningly.

"You'll see when they arrive. Dinner will be delivered to your rooms." He finished his remark and then stood there, as if waiting for something.

"Well, go on." He gestured and without a moment's hesitation, the only people remaining beside the Elder Tree was Weiss and the two Guardians, but not for long, as they proceeded to descend the staircase. The heiress studied the tree until she was bored and proceeded down the staircase to find her room.

Her weapon Myrtenaster was placed on her well made bed along with a change of clothes, as he promised. She swapped clothing and examined her rapier. Satisfied with her handiwork, she placed it beside her bed and laid on her mattress. She closed her eyes and decided to sleep her day away.

* * *

"Ruby, calm down! You're gonna break something!"

"Yea, but look at that triple barrel dust revolver. And that steelworks katana infused with incendiary dust! Oh my gosh, is that a convertible frost hammer with a built in assault rifle?"

Ruby's ogling at the rows upon rows of silver weapon stands ranging from single purpose tools to compact interchangeable blades and hammers coupled with a firearm. Yang restrained the young huntress enough for her not to destroy anything unnecessary. The blonde wasn't _as _excited as her baby sister, but she was occasionally eyeing a certain pair of shotgun gauntlets up on display.

"I wanna see the customization room!" Ruby struggled against Yang's grip in her cape, threatening to rip it in two.

The customization room was a twenty meter by fifteen meter by five meter gray room stocked with all the spare parts ever created. Ruby was so shocked and elated that she thought she was doing to die of a heart attack. The parts were organized by, size, shape, weight and weapon type, stored in a beige box. Each part glistened from the light above as the crimson huntress peered into every box on every shelf. There were worn workbenches on the other side of the room that lined the walls. Windows let fresh air into the small room so the musty smell of oil and metal shavings wouldn't distract those who were working. Ruby was practically fantasizing about the dozens of upgrades and modifications she had always wanted to make for Crescent Rose. Crescent Rose…

"Gawh! Yang! I don't have Crescent Rose!" The red haired huntress broke down and was heartbroken at the realization that she wouldn't be able to fulfill her fantasies. She was as depressed as the time Weiss more or less ate her last cookie. On the verge of tears, she heard her sister pat her back and say something.

"Ruby, your scythe is in your room-" before Yang could finish the sentence, she was gone and what had taken her place was a pile of rose petals. '_Oh Ruby.' _The blonde rushed out of the Bladeworks and sprinted down the stairs, hoping her baby sister didn't break anything in the process. She caught a glimpse of her at the base of the staircase to her relief.

"Ru-" before finishing her sentence Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose and tossed Yang her Ember Celica. '_Why does Ruby have my-' _She looked up to find the gaze of eight other people standing on the white marble lobby of this sanctuary. One was a tall woman and another somewhat short, both were dressed in red. There was a man dressed in black, one in silver and another had a formal vest on. One was clothed in green and another in last guy Yang knew, with his white tuxedo and cigar in mouth.

"Torchwick…" She gritted her teeth as she primed her gauntlets.

"It seems like everybody knows you," the tall woman draped in red joked.

"Shut up Cinder," Roman retorted.

Both Ruby and Yang lowered their stance and prepared to charge, but a thunderous voice boomed from behind.

"Sheathe your weapons," he bellowed.

The two sisters reluctantly withdrew their scythe and gauntlets respectively. They turned to face the giant of a man. He stood a little over seven feet tall. His pale and wrinkled jawline didn't match his voice. He made his way over to the newly arrived eight, brushing past Yang.

"I apologize for that unexpected greetings from our guests." He turned and gave quick glare at the blonde from under his hood before returning to the newly arrived.

"Welcome to the Marble Sanctuary. From this day forth, you will be sharing this palace with them."

"This is gonna be fun," she said as she elbowed Ruby.

* * *

**More on the way! Hoped you guys enjoyed it, later!**


	7. Plans

"We're sharing this place with _them_?"

"Calm down Jaune." Pyrrha motioned for him to lower his voice.

He shook his head in disgust as he returned to slowly consume his dinner. The china used was a thin marble plate decorated with swirls and patterns etched into the rim of the dish. Their meal was a small portion of a steak with mashed potatoes and peas on the side. Their drink was water poured into a crystal cup. Jaune had barely touched his vegetables and steak, he barely touched anything on his plate. He got up and continued to pace the room, careful not to knock anyone's stuff over.

"Can you please tell my why you all chose to meet in _my_ room?"

"Because you were asleep and Yang didn't want to carry you and no one else would, so we decided to meet here," Ruby said with a mouthful of steak and mashed potatoes.

"If you're going to invade someone's privacy, warn them _ahead_ of time. And please, speak once you've _swallowed_ your food." The heiress picked up her knife and fork and began to chip away at the steak. Her small proportions were dictated on the table etiquette her tyrant for a father had drilled into her head. The blonde admired her perfect posture when sitting and how her hands wielded the utensils with such grace and-

"Yang! Hey Yang! Snap out of it!" Ruby was rocking her sister back and forth, trying to get her attention. The brawler shook her head and realized that everyone in the room was staring at her. She flashed her usual grin and returned to finishing off her food.

"Anyways, as I was saying, we should try to avoid conflict for as long as possible. If we aren't allowed to fight anywhere but the Arena, then we should be fine. As long as they watch us as carefully as they do right now, then there's nothing to fear," Blake spoke confidently, motioning with her hands and arms throughout her proposal.

"I agree, we shouldn't let those Guardians dictate our lives. We should-" Weiss chimed in but was interrupted by a knock on her door. The door was ajar when a head poked out. It was the tour guide from earlier, although he wasn't wearing his cloak. He was wearing blue tinted sunglasses that completely covered his eyes with a loose button-down shirt and worn jeans. His tan skin and his naturally upright brown hair made him somewhat attractive, not as much as Yang, but still crush-worthy.

"Might I ask what the commotion is about?"

"None of your concern." Weiss attempt to brush him off failed as he stepped into the room and closed the door, leaning against the doorframe. He placed his hands into his pockets and proceeded to speak.

"I do believe it is of my concern madame. Your group is causing a _slight_ disturbance for the other successors." His polite voice on the verge of becoming sarcastic made the heiress want to shiver.

"What do you want?" Blake obviously annoyed with his presence here wanted him to be gone as soon as possible.

"Nothing, just making conversation with my successors and their fellow acquaintances." He indicated to everyone in the room.

"Please leave," Weiss commanded more than asked.

He smiled and bowed. "As you wish." He opened the door and quietly slipped out, gently closing the door behind him.

"What is up with that guy?" the heiress asked, too I infuriated to finish her meal.

"Beats me!" Nora exclaimed from Ren's lap on the floor as she snatched his steak and greedily ate it.

"Hey, I was going to eat that," Ren said playfully. He turned to face his girlfriend who gave him a chubby grin do to the steak in her mouth. He rolled his eyes as he returned his attention to the others.

"So now what?" Yang asked as she looked around the room. Blake, Weiss and Pyrrha were deep in thought while Ruby and the others were quietly conversing.

"I think that's enough for today. We'll see where this goes and if we think it's not worth it, then we'll just back out. So let's-" Blake was speaking nonchalantly when she was interrupted by a voice outside.

"You can't resign from something you haven't accepted."

Everybody seemed shocked and disconcerned that the tour guide was eavesdropping on their conversation. Weiss got up and swung the door open to find him leaning against the right side of the marble door frame. He had his arms crossed.

"What are you doing?" the heiress exclaimed as she flailed her arms in the air above her. He shrugged and turned to stared at the white haired girl through his sunglasses with a bored expression.

"Go away," Weiss said through her teeth as she clenched her fists tighter.

"Now, that's not how you were taught to treat people is, Lady Schnee?"

"Leave before I-" the white haired girl spoke in a low rumble before getting interrupted once again, this time by someone different.

"There you are. Quit messing with the successors and go help Ordan with the Oracle Lens. It's acting up again." An old female with a pale jawline motioned for the jerk in front of Weiss to leave. He moved without so much a shrug and silently walked out of the marble hallway with his hands in his pockets. After he disappeared from Weiss' sight, the other Guardian muttered a quick apology and left the heiress in the silent hallway.

"Hey Weiss, you okay?" Yang slowly approached the heiress from behind. She placed a hand on her shoulder but was immediately brushed off. The white haired girl turned and continued her advance towards leaving the hallway. "Weiss!" The blonde tried to chase after her but was met with a firm grip on her forearm. She turned to face the person who stopped her advance expecting Blake or Pyrrha, but was met with the gaze of...nothing… She looked down to find a white dove with a red rose on the ground and on top of a beige letter.

The dove that sat upon the message took flight and flew out of the hallway with the rose between its beak. Yang reached down and opened the letter to find it written in perfect calligraphy.

_'Let her go this time.'_

The blonde looked around to find that the door had closed. She opened it to find everyone happily conversing with each other, even Blake jumped in once and a while. Their plates and cups were neatly stacked at the center of Weiss' study table; empty of food and water. Yang's plate along with the heiress' was placed off to the side as well as their unfinished beverages.

"Hey, did you guys see anything?" the blonde asked, placing her right hand on her hip.

"Nope," a cheerful Ruby replied, returning to her conversation with the group.

"Then what _did_ you see?"

"Not much. We saw Weiss leave and moments later you left and closed the door behind you. I was wondering what you were doing out there. It's been almost an hour since we've last seen you," Ruby answered.

Nora giggled as she did Ren's hair up into a loose bun."Hey!" he called out in a happy tone as he tried to protest against his new hairstyle.

"So, where's your partner?" Pyrrha asked as she leaned against Jaune's shoulder.

"Off somewhere," Yang said halfheartedly.

"Oh, that's too bad. We were just about to leave for the Bladeworks where Ruby would show us some of her 'creations'," Jaune added as he brought an arm up to wrap around his girlfriend's shoulder. "Wanna come?"

"...Sure, why not?" Yang wanted to decline in order to search for Weiss, but her gut told her to trust the note that was stuffed into her pocket.

"Alright! Maybe one of you guys will be lucky enough to have _their_ weapons customized by yours truly," she got up and pointed at herself with a goofy grin on her face.

"Maybe not. Let's go." Blake got up and gently patted the crimson huntress on the head before making her way over to the door and opening it. Ruby sighed as she excitedly bounded down the hallway and up the stairs. Ren was next, with his girlfriend on his shoulders, as usual. '_How could someone not crack under the energy of Nora?'_ Yang thought. Jaune and Pyrrha were the last to leave, hand in hand as they whispered quietly amongst themselves. Once she reached the base of the staircase, the blonde stopped and allowed the couple behind her to pass so she would have a moment to reflect.

_'I wonder if I made the right choice,'_ Yang thought as she made her way up the stairs. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the same dove with a rose in between its beak above her. It circled around and soon landed on an opened hand of a small child cloaked in white, perched on a branch of the Elder Tree that was barely in view. The moment the person knew they were noticed, the figure wilted away in a flurry of daisy petals.

_'I guess we'll have to see,'_ Yang thought as she saw a fussing Ruby Rose struggling to pry Jaune's sword from his hand. Blake was inspecting some katanas and pistols on display. Ren and Nora were observing some warhammers and rifles up for show. Pyrrha stood by, giggling at the sight of her struggling boyfriend in front of her. Yang let out a soft chuckle as she jogged to rejoin the group.

_'I wonder what Weiss is doing...'_

* * *

"What is it Ordan?"

"If you would please stop acting like the rebellious teenager you are and help me with the Oracle Lens, then we wouldn't have any problems."

"Calm down, there's no need for the rush." Ytano sighed as he made his way over to the elder Guardian.

"And please wear your cloak when leaving your room."

"Yea yea, you wanted help or not?"

"Stand over there and lend me your Aura."

The younger Guardian made his way over to where he was pointing at. The opening was a circular room with five different Glyphs marked on the marble floor. One marked blue with a star in the middle, placed on Ordan's right. Another was red with an inverted triangle inside a circle centered around another triangle, located to his left. One Glyph was tinted gray and had two circles and in between them was a square, placed on the older Guardian's far right. The last available Glyph had pentagon inside a circle place on Ordan's far left. The one he stood on was solid yellow with words inscribed in a language native to Vacuo on three rings. The only light that was seen other than the occupied Glyph was radiating off the glowing purple sphere that levitated in the center on its pedestal.

Ytano stood on top of a gray Glyph and waved his hand to draw a series of words in an ancient language. He wisped his hands and drew upon his pool of Aura. The symbol underneath him began to glow. He sharply moved his hand to his right and a line illuminated on the ground. A link of Aura flowed to the right side of the pentagon from Ytano's point of view. When the link connected to Ordan's Glyph, his symbol grew brighter and so did the orb in the middle. After a few seconds, the orb in the middle of the room that was once barren of a flame combusted into a brilliant purple light inside its spherical container. The blaze lit the room with a magenta hue. Upon the walls, were carvings of significant events that took hold in Remnant. Etchings of prehistoric people before dust was discovered up to the Faunus Rights Revolution were found on the walls of marble.

"Are we done here?" Ytano asked, obviously annoyed that he was chosen instead of that old hag Enor.

"Yes, and send Anako in when-" Ordan began, but was interrupted by a wave of the younger Guardians hand. "Ungrateful punk," he muttered under his breath. No more than a few moments after Ytano left, the older female Guardian walked into the newly lit room.

"Was it wise of you to drag the boy out of his way just fix some dumb light? I could have easily fixed it on my own."

"I have my reasons. Also, I needed to speak to you regarding Enor and your successors."

"If this is going to take long, I would prefer to sit," Anako said, rubbing her back to emphasize her point.

"I've done this for the past millennia and I have yet to complain about back problems. I seriously doubt you need a break from your line of work, but if that is what you want." Ordan snapped his fingers and a chair was materialized beside Anako. She took the seat and prepared herself for the doubt the elder Guardians was about to cast upon her.

"I was wondering why you chose those four?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" She readjusted her position in her seat, never making eye contact.

"Roman Torchwick, Hei Xiong, Miltiades Malachite and Melanie Malachite. Why those four?"

"Are you questioning my motives?" Anako leaned in closer, resting her elbows on her knees and making a platform with her hands for her head to rest on.

"I'm saying that should you not have considered the fact of their questionable actions and past?" Ordan took a step closer before continuing. "I'm starting to believe that you and Enor are conspiring against the council, and all of Remnant! And you plan on using the successors to fulfill these goals!"

"That is absurd! I can't believe you would even dare bring up such ludicrous accusations against me!" Although she was old, she was far from febile. Anako shot up from the marble chair and glared at Ordan. Her eyes were covered by the white hood.

"Deny all you want, my accusations still stands." He said as he turned to face an etching on the wall behind him. "Leave," he rumbled.

Without a second thought, Anako gave a grunt as she turned and left the room, leaving the elder Guardian alone with his thoughts as he stared into the burning purple orb.

* * *

Weiss stared at the carnations growing on the bright green grass. The air was vibrant with scents of lavender, daisies, roses, lilacs and other unearthly aromas that radiated off the flowers planted. They were in full bloom and their beauty could've never been properly catalogued in the books the heiress had ever read. Other than the cobblestone pathway that lead to the other end of the room, the earth was covered with flowers.

_'I can see why it's a place of recollection,'_ Weiss thought was she ran her hand through the flowers at the edge of the walkway. Her white t-shirt and shorts did little to suppress the tickling sensation of the petals against her right thigh and calf. He colourless sneakers were laced up tightly as she stopped halfway down the pathway. There was a lone lilac flower in the middle of a myrtus cluster. A light breeze caused the flowers to sway and create a light flurry of dancing petals. From the field of thousands, one hundred flowers performed the mesmerizing swirl of colours. A myrtus cluster and a lilac petal both landed in the open palm of the heiress as she continued to stare into the colour-filled sky.

"Amazing, isn't it?" a young female voice spoke from behind the white haired girl.

Weiss slowly nodded her head without looking away, not wanting to blink for she would miss the show.

"The Flower Bed is most beautiful around this time of year." The person walked to the heiress' side. After a few seconds, the petals slowly rained down to the ground. Weiss finally turned to face her guest. She was short: her head was just below the heiress' breast line. She had pale blonde hair done up into a loose bun with two small nubs that were barely noticeable poking out of her head. The girl was wearing an elegant one-piece dress tinted a light purple with the same coloured flats. She had pale blue eyes and a slender build. She looks a lot like someone the heiress had seen before but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Do I know you?" the white haired girl asked bluntly.

"As of now, no. But I suppose you should get to know the person you're going to be taking over for. I'm your predecessor." She stuck out her hand and flashed grin with a slight tilt of her head and added cheerfully, "Name's Ani."

"Weiss," she replied with less than half of the girl's energy as she shook her hand. "Wait, so you're the Guardian I'm suppose to take over for?"

"If you put it like that, it sounds like I'm an old fossil," Ani whispered as she broke the handshake.

"Aren't you too young to retire?" Weiss questioned her skeptically.

"There other reasons why one must step down from a job position such as a better work environment or health matters. Retirement is not restricted to just age, you of all people should know that," Ani said confidently without breaking eye contact. Weiss was shocked by her response that she asked the obvious question.

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"You look ten."

"Just because my physical appearance is much younger than my mental state, you shouldn't assume that my responses will be justified only by looks," Ani as she place a hand on her hip.

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Guardians and successors never age once they have begun or completed the trials. You seem like a fairly intellectual person, so you can figure that out," the Guardian said with a smile on her face.

"So if you were ten when you started, how did you manage?"

"I got help."

"From who?"

"Another Guardian."

"Who?" Weiss raised her voice slightly to get her point across.

"Someone…" Ani stared at her feet and twiddled her thumbs, obviously showing she had feelings for this person.

"Anyways, what did that tour guide jerk mean by 'a place where you can relive memories'?"

"He's not a jerk by nature, he just gets agitated easily."

"Right...anyways, you mind explaining?" Weiss asked, placing both hands on her hips.

"Follow me." Ani said as she led the heiress off the path and into some impermeable overgrowth at the edge of the room. She hesitated once she got to the edge as Ani stopped and turned to face her successor.

"You wanted answers didn't you? They're just beyond here." Ani said as she began moving branches and leaves out of the way. Weiss stood there for a moment, contemplating whether or not she should follow. Eventually, curiosity took hold and it led the heiress to follow the Guardian.

_'Yang must be having a blast right now,'_ Weiss thought as a branch smacked her right on the nose.

* * *

"Ruby, don't touch that!"

"Oh calm down Yang, I got this!" No sooner had the crimson huntress said those words, a series of loud bangs and rattling of metal filled the eardrums of the blonde. "Oops. sorry!"

"I hate to say I told you so but-"

"She told you so," Blake butted in, her eyes never leaving a rack of multi-coloured blades.

"Hey!" Yang pouted at the loss of her punchline.

"You begin to know less and less about who she really is everyday." Pyrrha sighed as she wrapped herself around Jaune's right arm.

"Well maybe, but at least she's communicating more often," he said as he scratched the back of his head. Blake glared at him before returning to inspect the weapons. "Cold as ever," he muttered under his breath. Ruby giggled as she returned to ogling at the blades and firearms.

"Where's Ren and Nora?" Yang looked around to find the pair nowhere in sight.

"I think Ren is off doing maintenance on StormFlower. Nora's probably looking over him." Pyrrha said as she tightened her grip on Jaune's arm.

"Umm, not to sounded disappointed or anything, but I haven't seen _those_ guys." The blonde emphasized her disgust by pretending to nauseous.

"There's no need to be childish Yang. But I do recognize your point. Blake, thoughts?" the red haired girl asked, still clinging on to her boyfriends arm.

"I don't know where they are. What I _do_ know is that something bad is bound to happen when you don't expect it," she said, never making eye contact.

"Since when did you know so much about being clueless?" Yang asked playfully with a tilt of her head.

"I've had my experiences," Blake said nonchalantly as she finally turned to face something other than a board of steel.

"Well then, what do you propose we do Miss Belladonna?" Pyrrha asked with an equally mixture of politeness and curiosity.

"We prepare."

"How?" Jaune chimed in. His answer was rewarded by a questioning look from Blake.

"We train." The Faunus walked past the three onlookers and out of the Bladeworks.

"Guess we'd better get going," Pyrrha said as she dragged a protesting Jaune to the Arena.

"Hey, where's Ruby?" Yang looked around to find her sister missing. No sooner had the blonde finished the search around her, a wall of cascading metal could be heard from across the room.

"I'm okay!" the crimson huntress exclaimed as another round of falling metal could be heard. "Still okay!"

_'Oh Ruby, you're such an adorable little clutz.'_ Yang made her way over to the origin of the noise with a grin on her face.

"Oh, Ren, Nora, what are you doing here? I thought you were customizing your guns." The blonde was surprised to find the couple staring down at a pile of fallen weapons and the hands and feet sticking out of the pile.

"He's done!" Nora ecstatically patted the boy's head, ruffling his hair while she was at it.

"Help!" Ruby weakly squeaked from under the mound of metal and leather. Yang chuckled as she and Ren began to quickly remove the weapons to reveal a grimy young huntress. She had a few scuffs and some holes torn into her combat skirt. She smiled from ear to ear as she stuck out both her hands. The blonde tilted her head before grabbing both her hands and yanking her off the ground.

"Heh, sorry bout the mess, got carried away." The crimson huntress scratched the back of her head.

"Well, at least you're not hurt, right?" Yang sounded serious about the injured part. Her sister responded with a fierce headshake.

"Good. Alright, let's go." The brawler grabbed the younger girl's hand and began dragging her to the exit.

"Wait, where are we going?" Ruby struggled to break free.

"To the Arena!"

"But I had barely gotten started on the modifications I wanted to do for Crescent Rose! And there's your gauntlets and Blake's sword and Weiss' rapier. C'mon, a little longer? Yang? Yang? Yang!" She could struggle and complain all she wanted, the blonde's grip was solid as she made her way over to the west opening to the Elder Tree.

_'I wonder what Weiss is doing.'_

* * *

"Are we there yet?" the heiress whined as another branch hit her right in the face.

"I didn't think you were the type to complain about situations. You seemed so proper and up-right that I thought you were too good to groan."

"I remember you saying that you shouldn't judge a person's response based on their physical appearance," the white haired girl said with a sly grin as she followed the Guardian through the thicket of brush.

"I merely assumed that your actions would be dictated by the life you have lived, that is all."

"Assumptions are what get you or your comrades killed."

There was silence from the heiress' predecessor. After a few moments, she spoke up again, this time in a more soft, mellow tone. "We're here."

Once Weiss broke through the clearing, she was in awe at the beauty at this hidden place. There were trees of different sizes and species but they all had one thing in common; they blocked out the ceiling and the sunlight. All the walls surrounding the room were painted with vines of different sizes and origins. There was a massive stone pillar in the center of the room that extended beyond the canopy of the trees. The tower had etchings of symbols and designs accompanied with its fair share of cracks and missing portions of the smooth stone across its surface. The pathway the heiress was standing on was made of cracked cobblestone and had grass growing from gaps between tiles. The pathway was the only one that Weiss could see that lead to the structure at the center. The area around the white haired girl was riddled with trees that nearly blocked out her vision of the others walls.

"Come on, let's go," Ani said as she slowly walked towards the pillar. The heiress nodded and followed the Guardian.

From what Weiss could tell, the only place the had sunlight penetrating the canopy was at the center, and nowhere else. Surrounding the pillar were eight pedestals with a different objects floating above their respected alters. The heiress circled around to inspect each item up for display.

One had a golden skeleton of a cube levitating on one of its vertices. Another was a golden dagger with a ruby embedded at the bottom of its hilt. It floated vertically with the blade pointing skywards. One object was a silver sphere with gold markings and swirls carved into its polished surface. Another was a small wooden picture frame with an aged painting of a wilting flower. The one opposite to the entrance was a fairly large crystal tinted a blueish green. Another pedestal stood a floating wooden doll bare of any facial expression or hair. The altar beside that kept an old and tattered book opened to a random page. The words were absolute gibberish to Weiss as she made her way over the last item.

It was a small hand-held mirror with a golden frame and its reflective surface a blue hue. The carvings along the frame of the item were of swirls and symbols that the heiress recognized to be her native tongue. The handle was wrapped in aged leather and the whole mirror head was perfect oval with a crown of jewels on top. Weiss would have stayed and admired the object all day had it not been a voice from behind her.

"I believe you know what these pedestals hold," the voice said quietly. Weiss nodded her head, never breaking eye contact with the mirror.

"Well, here's the answer to the question you're going to ask next. Each artifact the duo must assemble is specific to the pair themselves. For example, let's take the sphere Miss Rose and Miss Belladonna had to rebuild. That orb signifies to Blake the solidarity and motion she had to keep while she was part of the White Fang. The markings across its surface is the stem of a rose, both figuratively and literally. It shows that no matter how isolated and alone you choose to be, there will always be those who will embed themselves inside your heart," Ani said as stood beside the silent heiress.

"What does this mirror represent?" Weiss asked silently, her eyes falling on her white sneakers.

"Your answer lies at the top of this pillar."

"What do you mean?" the white haired girl asked, looking up to find the Guardians pale blue eyes. Her dress was still pristine, the same couldn't be said about her clothing.

"Have you ever wondered why this pillar is in the condition it is now?" She gestured to the structure in front of her.

"I thought it was because of age."

"Partially. It's because other successors and even some Guardians have scaled it to reach the top."

"What do you mean by- Hey!" Weiss started but was interrupted when the younger girl began floating up into the air.

"If you want answers, you'll have to reach the top. I'll see you there!" Ani shouted as she rocketed out of sight, leaving the stunned heiress.

_'Alright, let's go,'_ she thought as she summoned a propulsion glyph and shot upwards. The wind rushed past her face and caused her hair to flail wildly in the air. She let out a laugh as she summoned another glyph, one after the other. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, she finally felt alive ever since she got her. After a few seconds, Weiss had broken through the canopy to find out the sheer size of the room.

It had a massive dome ceiling with eight marble arches to support the roof. They all connected at the center of the semi-sphere. There were no walls to the dome, just a reflection glyph. The wind and sunlight were much more noticeable up here. She could have found the tallest tree and perched herself there to take in the view if she hadn't noticed a waving young girl wearing a purple dress on top of a stone pillar. The heiress redirected herself and launched off towards the structure. Two more glyphs later and Weiss was standing besides Ani, who had a big smile on her face.

"I heard you were a proficient wielder of glyphs and aura. I guess there's no denying it."

"So, where are we?" Weiss looked around to find that the flowers growing up here glowed. As they swayed in the wind, specks of sparkling dust left the flowers, descending to the ground below.

"This is the Flower Bed of Memories."

* * *

**More on the way, hoped you guys enjoyed. Later!**

**A/N: For those of you who play League of Legends, see if you can spot the two references. (LOL fan I know, but lol!)**


	8. Memories

"What makes these flowers different from the ones on the floor when we first came in?"

"Have you ever noticed that the blossoms here shed dust instead of petals?" She gestured to the carnations in front of her.

"Yes, but-"

"Try picking one up."

Weiss hesitated before reluctantly crouching down and picking up a wilting rose. The dust that flew off its petals was a dark purple. The redness was absent, in favour of a blackish blue. The flower felt heavy in the heiress' hand.

"Smell it."

"Are you sure that this _won't _kill me?"

"Now why would I kill my successor?" She place a hand on her hip and tilted her head with a subtle frown on her face.

She sighed and brought the flower to her nose and inhaled. It's scent was old and musty. It was aged with a slight sourness to the underlying rose smell. She breathed in its aroma once more before pulling away.

"Not the best but-"

The world went hazy for the heiress mid-sentence. Her head began to pound as she was beginning to lose her motor skills and balance. She collapsed onto her knees as she stared dully at the Guardian in front of her.

"What...did you...do…"

All she felt next was the soft grass against her body and head. The blades tickled her nose and threatened her with a sneeze. She felt light-headed and drowsy. Just before she fell into the deep slumber, she heard a gentle voice spoke from in front of her.

"Enjoy the view."

* * *

Weiss awoke in a plain square room with grids of blue drawn across all the walls. She was still wearing the same white shorts, tee and sneakers. She looked around to find an exit but to no avail. She was about to pace the room when a voice caught her attention.

"I hope you didn't mind the sudden throbbing."

She spun around to face the speaker. She had the same one-piece magenta dress and matching flats. Her hair was let down instead of the usual bun. It reached down to her lower back, making her seem younger than she was. She slowly advanced towards the white haired girl with a welcoming grin on her face.

"You could have at least warned me first Ani."

"I thought you were prepared for every event that came your way."

"You make way too many assumptions and that's your weak point." Weiss said as she turned to face the wall behind her. "So, what is this place?"

"The Fantasy Compass."

The heiress snickered softly, catching the attention of the Guardian. She gave a curious look to the white haired girl, indicating for her to answer the unspoken question.

"Just who comes up with these names?" she asked, struggling to regain her composure.

"The ones who built this. Did you honestly think that _we _were the original members of the council?"

"I suppose. So what does this place do?" She inspected the four walls, along with the floor and ceiling to find them eerily similar.

"You'll find out soon enough." She gave a devious smile.

Before Weiss could protest, a light blinded her vision. She brought an arm up to help block out the brilliant glow that was overloading her retinas. She clamped her eyes shut and after a few moments, the orange glow that was created from her closed eyelids was gone. She opened her eyes to find the grid room gone. She was standing in a nice cozy cabin that was lit in an orange hue that radiated from the burning fireplace. The room had a worn wool mattress against the far wall, along with a table and a few chairs located on far wall. Paintings of plants and trees were hung on the worn wooden planks.

"Nice place, isn't it?"

Weiss spun around and was greeted by a smiling little girl.

"Was it ever in your job description that scaring the living daylights out of your successors is mandatory?" The heiress was unfazed but her ragged breaths told Ani otherwise.

"Nope, I just like the element of surprise." She gave goofy smile before returning to her matter-of-fact look.

"Alright, surprise me. What is _this _place?" Weiss waved her arms to gesture to whole room.

She raised a finger to signal for patience. Weiss obliged and stood there with the Guardian in the silent room. The heiress opened her mouth to complain but was told otherwise when the door behind her swung open and a tall woman walked into the cabin. The white haired girl was taken aback and moved out of her way. Ani snickered a bit at the shocked look she had let slip through her calm face. She pointed to her feet and Weiss' gaze followed the trajectory of her finger. She went wide-eyed for she was standing in a desk stacked with paper. She quickly stepped out and gave the Guardian a confused and flustered look.

"What are we doing here?" she whispered quickly.

"Relax, she can't hear us," she said calmly as she made her way over to the women sitting in the old wooden chair.

"What do you mean? Hey!" Weiss said quietly as she briskly made her way over the Guardian.

"You're reliving a memory. There is no need to be so discreet."

"If you say so." She sighed as she once again spoke. "So, who is she?"

"Summer Rose."

* * *

"Did you come alone?"

"...Yes…"

"Good."

"Enor, before we conduct the meeting, I must ask. Have you been leaking information to-" A hand was raised, signalling the speaker to stop.

"Anako, if you are having second thoughts on this, then by all means, step down. But you will not question my motives or persuade any of your or my successors, do you understand?" his voice was ragged but just as serious.

"Yes…" her voice barely above a whisper.

"Good, so either join us or leave and be done with it." He turned and opened the marble door behind him.

The room was dark with a levitating orb in the center of a marble table as its only light source. It illuminated the room with yellow hue. It casted elongated shadows across the marble walls and floor. There were eight people present at the rectangular table: four on each side. On one side sat her successors, the other side seated Enor's. There were shadows cast into the eye sockets of the onlookers. Enor swiftly walked into the dim room and took his seat at the head of the table. He raised his hand and briefly opened his palm before closing it. The marble doors slowly closed, leaving a contemplating Anako at its doorway.

'_Just what have I have I gotten into?'_

* * *

"Wait what?"

"This is Summer Rose's memory you are currently viewing." Ani said calmly as she continued to stare at the woman in the chair. She had long dark brown hair tinted red at the ends that flowed down to her lower back. Her bangs fell down from both sides of her face to her jawline. She was wearing a red sweater and black skinny jeans. A mixture of job applications, resumes and bills were scattered across the table. Her gaze was focused on some paperwork in her hand regarding a lease. She breathed a stressed sigh as she tossed it among the other sheets and promptly laid on the couch beside the fireplace.

"What do you mean? What is all this?" Weiss was struggling to comprehend the absurd landscape and vision.

Ani sighed before diving into her explanation. "The Fantasy Compass is a tool in which both Guardians and successors alike use to view scenes in a person's life, similar to a movie. The sole purpose it was designed for is to decide who is capable of become a member of the council."

"But why are we here? She wasn't one of the sixteen chosen." Weiss gestured to the slumbering woman on the worn leather couch.

"Yes, but it who said it had to be current successors?"

The heiress didn't take long to create a hypothesis. "So Summer Rose was a past successor?" her voice contained disbelief.

"...Yes."

Weiss thought she was going to lose it.

"Stop it, stop it now!"

Ani gave her a questioning look.

"This isn't right! There is no dignity in knowing something that a person didn't want to share. There has to some moral to this right? A limit?" The white haired girl was curious yes, but she also had self-control governing her decision.

Ani closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Weiss stood anxiously as she stared at the silent girl in front of her.

"Is everythin-"

With a snap of her fingers, the room along with Weiss vision faded into blackness.

* * *

Yang was pounding away at a worn leather punching bag when she stopped to see how the others were doing. Ren, Nora and Ruby were at the shooting range. Sounds of gunfire could be heard coming from there. Pyrrha and Jaune were sparring in an arena nearest to the entrance. Blake was busy destroying straw-filled mannequins. The blonde placed a hand on her hip and smiled slightly.

"Isn't admiring others fun?"

The brawler spun around to find the same dude that barged into their meeting earlier that day. Same outfit as before.

"What do you want?" she said discontentedly before returning to unleash her new untold anger on the punching bag.

"What's gotten you all worked up?" he asked as he circled around to get a better view of the brawler.

"None of your concern," she grunted.

"There's no need to be so rude. Oh, is it because I ticked off your girlfriend?"

Yang hit the bag with such force that the seams broke and the stuffing exploded from its container. Her gaze fell on the man in front of her; her eyes lit ablaze with anger. He raised his hands up in surrender.

"Woah, easy there. I was just asking a question, no need to take it personally." He gave an innocent smile.

"Get...out…" she growled through her teeth.

"Alright. But before I leave, you might as well know why I came here." He shrugged before continuing. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to see you lover, but if that's-"

The blonde's ears perked up at the mentioning of Weiss' name. He noticed the slight twitch and his grin grew wider.

"That's the answer I was looking for. Follow me." He turned and left the Arena. Yang hesitated to tail him, but her curiosity and longing to see the heiress got the better of her.

She looked around the room to find no one had caught her little mishap. She took one more glance around the massive beige room lined training dummies and sparring arenas. The blonde reluctantly tailed the stranger out of the Arena.

'_I'm sure the others won't mind.'_

* * *

Weiss awoke to the sight of a flower stem. A scent of lavender hit her nose as she groggily got up to survey her surroundings. The blue cloudless sky above complemented the light breeze she felt. The occasional chirp of a sparrow captured the full beauty that she was intaking.

"Enjoy that?"

She spun around to find a shorter girl dressed in magenta behind her.

"Why did you take me there?"

"It was not of my choosing. You were the one to pick up that specific flower that just so happened to be Summer Rose's memory," she said so casually that Weiss would have lost it.

"Have you no shame? How can you look at someones past without so much a flinch? What if it was a secret that they wanted to hide from the world because they are too embarrassed it about it? What if they don't know how to say it because the moment the thought enters their head, they can't bare that burden anymore? Have you ever thought of that!" Weiss screamed. Her fists were clenched shut as a gentle breeze lifted her hair and scattered the dust radiating off the petals. There was silence between the two of them before it was interrupted by a light nudge on her arm.

The heiress opened her eyes to find a dying Myrtus cluster in the Guardian's hand. The leaves of the plant were wilting away as the natural oil that was once abundant in the plant has almost disappeared. Ani was staring at her feet as she offered the flower to the taller girl.

"No...I will not violate another person's memories." She turned and proceeded to hop down the pillar when a quiet voice spoke from behind her.

"What if they're part of your memories?"

Weiss stopped at the edge and turned around to face the motionless girl in front. Her gaze locked onto the cracked stone floor. The breeze picked up slightly causing her dress and hair to visually show the winds fluidity. The flower petals in her out-stretched hand swayed, sending a small vortex off in the same direction of the heiress hesitantly took the flower into her hands and closed her eyes.

The Myrtus cluster felt heavy and familiar. The last of its remaining oil transferred onto her palm. It filled the crevices of her soft hands as it slowly seeped into her pores. She brought it up to her nose and inhaled deeply. The scent was sweet with a hint of peppermint, much different from Summer's flower. Weiss' vision began to haze as her head gently hit the warm sun-bathed grass.

* * *

"Mother? Is that you?"

"Yes dear."

The white haired girl awoke to the sight of a white stone wall that towered above her. She rose from the floor to take in her new landscape. The high ceiling had multiple chandeliers, each hang on by a single chain. The dust that was ablaze lit the room in an orange hue. The walls that encompassed her had great panes of stained glass decorated with a familiar symbol. The granite floor polished to perfection bore patterns and symbols that were native to her language.

"Remind you of anything?" the same voice said from behind her.

"Why are we in the White Castle?"

She stepped a foot in front of Weiss and pointed her finger at two figures standing at the center of the room. One was short with long white hair. She was dressed in a plain dress with lacing around her hips and back. She wore flats encrusted with tiny jewels of different colours. The other person had their hair done up into a bun. They wore the same kind of elegant dress but without the laces. Her slender build and perfect posture complimented the paleness of their skin.

"Look familiar?"

Weiss squinted her azure eyes to get a better look at the two. Her eyes widened as she covered her gasping mouth.

"The reason will be clear soon enough."

The heiress nodded. '_What am I doing in my childhood memories?' _She continued to watch as her mother knelt down and conversed with her younger self. She had a violin in her hand and its bow in the other. She giggled at her mothers remarks. Suddenly, a man dressed in a black tuxedo ran in to confront her mother.

"M'lady, you must leave with Lady Schnee immediately, the-"

From what Weiss could conclude, he sounded rushed and nervous. He had beads of sweat across his forehead and his suit was ruffled and wrinkled. His hair was just as disorganized. His arm motions were very exaggerated as he urgently began pushing the two women to a massive wooden door.

As if in slow motion, the far wall blew apart as the sounds of explosion rippled through the air. The windows shattered as men in grey and black with rifles fired at the three stunned victims. Debris and dust filled the air as more crackles of gunfire riddled the air. Weiss' vision was blocked as she brought her arm up shield them from the dust. She could almost make out a scream behind the sound of destruction.

When the dust finally settled, the room that was once standing was completely obliterated. The assailants had vanished and the only proof that they were here was the bullet casings and metal shrapnel that littered the floor. She turned to face Ani, who as emotionless. She was about to ask what she was staring at but a plea caught her attention.

"Noo! Please stay with me! Stay with me Weiss!"

Her eyes found her mother cradling her younger version. She gasped at the horrific scene in front of her. Her past-self that wore a white dress stained a dark red on her abdomen and blood trickled down the bridge of her nose. The dress that her mother had on was dyed crimson around the area she held her motionless child.

"Weiss, stay with me baby. Help! Somebody! It's okay, I got you. Please!"

The heiress herself was shocked to say the least. '_I don't remember this.' _She turned to face the Guardian to ask her the burning question. "Whose memory is this?" She remained silent as she stared at the weeping woman. The white haired girl couldn't take the uncertainty any longer. She was about to force herself awake from this nightmare when a voice caught her attention.

"What is it?"

The heiress searched for the source of the noise but found it was coming from nowhere. She did another scan of the area but to no avail. The voice spoke up once more.

"You called?"

Weiss' mother looked up into the air in amazement that someone heard her plea. "Yes!, Please, save my daughter!" She lifted her dying child to emphasize her point.

"I'm afraid I can't-"

"Yes you can! I know that there is one way to do it! So please." She sounded frantic and on edge.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes! Please, don't make it harder than it is."

Silence encompassed the destroyed room as Weiss' mother continued to stare into the vacant air. After what seemed like an eternity of nothing, she began to break down and sobbed heavily into the abdomen of her unconscious daughter.

"Would you please stop crying, it's unsettling."

"But-" She struggled to formulate words when a soft cough left the lips of the girl in her arms. Soon, tears of sorrow turned to tears of joy. She held the girl in a tight embrace for a long time, not wanting to abandon her.

"Now, the injuries that your child suffered will to transferred to you-"

"No, I will disappear and be lost underneath the rubble."

"Why? Don't you want your family to find your body so they can give you a proper burial?"

"If my soul can't rest, then my body won't do me any good." She got up and laid the waking girl on a relatively flat piece of undamaged land. She planted a quick kiss on her forehead and then turned to face the air in front.

A snap echoed throughout the room as Weiss' mother began to vanish into nothing. She gave one last look at her child before she closed her eyes and accepted the fate that time had bestowed upon her.

A thin trail of tears ran from the heiress' eyes as she stared at her feet, refusing to look at the memory any longer. A soft nudge on her right arm caused her to look up. Ani pointed to the stirring girl on the broken granite floor.

"Mother?" she called out as she frantically began to search the area around her. "Mother? Mother! Mother!" her cries that were going unheard there echoed within the helpless heiress. She was about to command Ani to stop this nightmare when another voice caught her attention.

"Something wrong my little princess?" It sounded playful, far too playful. Just like the last time, the source of the noise was nowhere to be found.

"Who are you? Where are you? What do you want?"

"Let's just say I can make your wishes come true."

"I want to see my mother again." She begged as she continued to look for the speaker.

"Well then, weren't we taught not to be selfish my dear?"

"Yes, but-"

"How do you think other people feel when they lose their parents or someone they love?" He was playing at something deeper and Weiss knew it.

"...Sad…"

"Right. So you're not the only one." The past version of the heiress was silent as the voice continued to speak. "How about this, I can make it so that no one has to suffer the same pain you've suffered, and all you have to do is take my hand." The moment the words left his lips, a hand materialized in front of the shocked heiress on the ground.

She reluctantly accepted the hand and gripped it firmly. Her small hand was completely covered as a dark aura surrounded her. The voice spoke once more. "Then I hereby dub you as my successor, Weiss Schnee."

The room along with the heiress' vision turned black as she was greeted by the void of nothing.

* * *

"Where are we even going?"

"You'll see."

"You know, I'm starting to get the feeling that you're leading me on."

"What do you mean my dear?"

"You want some action don't you?"

"I have no idea on what you think of me, but they're totally wrong." He laughed as he continued on through the thicket of greenery.

"Then what's the big idea?" Yang asked as she brushed past more branches.

"You'll see…"

The blonde sighed as she reluctantly followed her "tour guide" through what seemed like an impassable wall of leaves. '_You better be safe when I get to you Weiss.'_

* * *

The heiress was awakened by a soft nudge on her arm. A light breeze blew the smell of lavenders and roses across towards her. The warm grass made it hard for her to leave, but another nudge told her otherwise. She got up and was greeted by the same girl in magenta.

"What was that?"

Silence ensued from the question as the wind blew across the small garden of flowers. Their dust scattered into the air as Ani looked up to give her response. "That was your mother's."

The white haired girl didn't buy it; she wouldn't buy it. "Explain."

The girl in magenta sighed before giving her explanation. "Your mother, the queen of the White Castle and wife to your father, the king of the White Castle, both the genetic parents of lady Weiss Schnee, you. Your mother was a successor candidate, chosen by a member of the council before we came to power." She stopped to gesture to herself before continuing. "The voice you heard speak to you in that memory was the Guardian I had to replace."

Weiss took a moment to digest what information she received and fired her first question. "Why do I have no recollection of that event?"

"He cast a spell on you. The moment he touched you, he erased that specific memory from your brain. That's why you were so cold and heartless for a majority of you life after your mother's death. He transferred a portion of his personality to you-."

"That is insane! I've always hated my father's guts. He's rude and obnoxious."

"That's his personality talking," Ani mumbled as she continued her explanation. "After your mother's death, your father did everything in his power to keep you satisfied and content so you wouldn't fall into depression. He bought you everything you ever wanted and spoiled you with his kindness. It worked, for a while, but that incompetent Guardian's persona became your persona. No matter how kind he was or how much time he sacrificed just to be with you, you always blew him off. After a year of his failed attempts, he buried his frustration in his work and hired a multitude of tutors to keep you busy."

Weiss was struggling to wrap her head around this new-found information. She couldn't just accept this ludicrous answer, there had to be more. Ani sighed as she added, "Have you ever noticed that every time you try to think of a memory from before your mother died, you start to break down and cry?" She turned away to stare into bright blue sky. "The reason is you can't properly recall it. That Guardian's spell won't allow you to, so when someone asks you something regarding an event that happened before your mother's death, you begin to cry. To others, it may seem like a bad memory, but to you, it's the Guardian's deterrent.

"Then why don't I cry every time I try to recall a memory from my past?"

"Because you're only scratching the surface. If you were to question what you did or what you saw, then spell would activate and you start to become moody. Though no one has asked you about your past or you never really thought about it, so it was never really on your mind.

"Then why is it that I can't undo this spell?"

"Because you have been cautious about who you've shared your past with. If you can find a person to talk to thoroughly about it and overcome the counter-measures that Guardian had implanted within you, then you will be able to undo the spell.

Weiss took a moment to digest the answer before asking again. "What did my mother mean when she said that her body will do her no good if it isn't properly laid to rest?"

"When you are chosen to be a successor, you are given two choices. Either die and take on the trials to become a Guardian, or sacrifice your soul and in turn, you are granted one wish. You were going to die, so your mother used her wish."

Weiss was beginning to crack under this information that she just could wrap her head around. "So my mother and I were attacked, by the White Fang I presume, and I was critically injured. My mother gave up her soul to save my life and at the same moment, a Guardian tricked me into becoming his successor?"

Ani nodded, her gaze never leaving the skies.

"Then why am I your successor and not his?"

"Because I was one of his four candidates and I was the first to di-" She caught herself on that word. She stopped for a moment before continuing. "I was the first to be awoken in the sanctuary and I was the one to replace him. Normally, we change council members every millennia, but if you become incompetent or unreliable, then you will be replaced early with a successor."

The heiress was slowly beginning to understand. Though her whole life she was taught how differentiate fact from fiction, this was completely different. A sparrow chirped in the distance as the dust flew off the flowers and into the sky. "So what-"

"I'm sorry Weiss, but it seems that I must take my leave. Hopefully we can chat again."

"Wait!"

In a flurry, a sudden gust of wind blew against the Guardian, causing her to wilt away into a storm of daisy petals. It only took several seconds for her to completely disappear. The heiress stood there silently for some time when a voice from behind caught her attention.

"Weiss!"

She spun around and was met with the intense grip around her neck. She struggled to get oxygen as she was spun around in the air.

"Ya-yang. Please."

"Right!" In one swift motion, she place the white haired girl on the ground and loosened her grip enough for her to breathe. She deeply inhaled some much-needed air. The blonde smiled as she broke the embrace but kept a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. "So, what is this place?"

"I'm just as curious and clueless as you." She sighed as she placed her head on her shoulder.

"Aww, Weissy, there's no need to be sad, Yang is here." She rubbed her right arm. She received a questioning look for the heiress but she let it slide. They stared into the blue sky as a light wind blew across the patch of grass. Yang opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a thunderous voice from above.

"Attention all successors, your next trial will commence in the next ten minutes. I repeat, your next trial will begin in the next ten minutes. Prepare your weapons, equipment and proceed to your designated rooms. You will be given further instructions when the time comes." The voice finished speaking and silence followed. The wind had died down and the birds stopped chirping. The blonde opened her mouth to speak but was once again interrupted, this time from the girl in her arms.

"Come on, let's go." She brushed past the taller girl and made her way over to the edge of the pillar.

"Where are you going?"

"To prepare." She turned around to face the curious blonde. "You coming?"

"Yea, just gimme a sec-" Before she could finish her sentence, Weiss was already gone. "Impatient as usual," she muttered under her breath. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked into the warm air.

"Didn't I already answer that?"

"I want the real reason, and stop hiding." Footsteps could be heard from behind. She turned around to find the same person from before in his same outfit. "Well?"

He sighed before he started his explanation. "Do you really need a reason? Can't you just accept that I brought you up here on my own free will?" He asked. Yang crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Guess not."

"Well, whatever reason you did do it for, thanks." She gave a sly smile, catching the man by surprise.

"What? No unrelenting barrage of questions or questioning looks?"

"Nope! Enjoy the view!" With that said, she hopped down and landed on the stone pathway with a thud.

Ytano looked into the blue sky to try to collect his thoughts. He laughed a bit before leaving the top of the pillar.

'_I guess opposites do attract.'_

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**Hoped you enjoyed it. More on the way! Later!**


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